Empowered Funds LLC Takes Position in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated $DGX

Empowered Funds LLC acquired a new position in shares of Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) in the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor acquired 10,624 shares of the medical research company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,252,000.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in DGX. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new stake in Quest Diagnostics during the second quarter valued at about $1,965,923,000. State Street Corp increased its stake in Quest Diagnostics by 3.0% during the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 5,382,547 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $934,033,000 after acquiring an additional 158,617 shares during the last quarter. Boston Partners raised its holdings in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 32.8% in the 3rd quarter. Boston Partners now owns 4,036,881 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $767,978,000 after purchasing an additional 997,033 shares during the period. Morgan Stanley raised its holdings in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 17.8% in the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 2,693,568 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $467,415,000 after purchasing an additional 406,658 shares during the period. Finally, EdgePoint Investment Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 35.1% in the 1st quarter. EdgePoint Investment Group Inc. now owns 2,243,869 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $439,753,000 after purchasing an additional 582,797 shares in the last quarter. 88.06% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Quest Diagnostics news, SVP Michael E. Prevoznik sold 22,677 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $243.11, for a total value of $5,513,005.47. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 37,557 shares in the company, valued at $9,130,482.27. The trade was a 37.65% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, SVP Mark E. Delaney sold 1,600 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $235.18, for a total transaction of $376,288.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 10,335 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,430,585.30. The trade was a 13.41% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders own 0.88% of the company’s stock.

Quest Diagnostics Stock Performance

Quest Diagnostics stock opened at $240.72 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $26.57 billion, a PE ratio of 25.55, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.16 and a beta of 0.55. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a one year low of $171.18 and a one year high of $247.19. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $226.44 and its 200 day moving average price is $207.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72, a quick ratio of 1.46 and a current ratio of 1.59.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 23rd. The medical research company reported $3.12 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.82 by $0.30. Quest Diagnostics had a net margin of 9.18% and a return on equity of 16.01%. The company had revenue of $3.04 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.97 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.62 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 10.2% on a year-over-year basis. Quest Diagnostics has set its FY 2026 guidance at 11.050-11.250 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Quest Diagnostics Incorporated will post 11.15 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Quest Diagnostics Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 21st. Investors of record on Tuesday, October 6th will be paid a dividend of $0.86 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, October 6th. This represents a $3.44 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.4%. Quest Diagnostics’s payout ratio is 36.52%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

DGX has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Argus set a $260.00 target price on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a research report on Wednesday, July 29th. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $245.00 price target on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a research report on Thursday, July 23rd. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Quest Diagnostics from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 28th. Mizuho increased their price objective on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $235.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, July 24th. Finally, Robert W. Baird raised their target price on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $236.00 to $255.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, July 24th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have assigned a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $235.31.

Quest Diagnostics Profile

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE: DGX) is a leading provider of diagnostic information services that supports clinical decision-making for patients, physicians and healthcare organizations. The company operates a network of clinical laboratories and patient service centers that perform a broad range of laboratory tests and diagnostic assays used in routine care, disease diagnosis, monitoring and screening.

Its services span core clinical laboratory testing, anatomic pathology, molecular and genomic diagnostics, infectious disease testing and toxicology.