Man Group plc Makes New $495,000 Investment in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated $DGX

Man Group plc purchased a new position in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 2,336 shares of the medical research company’s stock, valued at approximately $495,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Key Financial Inc raised its stake in Quest Diagnostics by 1,728.6% during the first quarter. Key Financial Inc now owns 128 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 121 shares during the period. Ancora Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Quest Diagnostics during the second quarter worth about $29,000. Quattro Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Quest Diagnostics during the 4th quarter worth $25,000. Sittner & Nelson LLC acquired a new position in shares of Quest Diagnostics during the fourth quarter worth $29,000. Finally, DV Equities LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics during the 4th quarter worth approximately $27,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 88.06% of the company’s stock.

Quest Diagnostics Price Performance

DGX opened at $236.75 on Friday. The company has a 50-day moving average of $227.64 and a 200-day moving average of $208.31. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a 1-year low of $171.18 and a 1-year high of $247.19. The company has a market capitalization of $26.13 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.13, a PEG ratio of 2.19 and a beta of 0.55. 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 issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 23rd. The medical research company reported $3.12 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.82 by $0.30. Quest Diagnostics had a return on equity of 16.01% and a net margin of 9.18%.The business had revenue of $3.04 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.97 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $2.62 EPS. 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. Equities analysts expect that Quest Diagnostics Incorporated will post 11.15 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Quest Diagnostics Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed 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 is Tuesday, October 6th. This represents a $3.44 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.5%. Quest Diagnostics’s dividend payout ratio is 36.52%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Argus set a $260.00 target price on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a research note on Wednesday, July 29th. Barclays increased their price objective on Quest Diagnostics from $230.00 to $250.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 23rd. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $245.00 target price on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a research note on Thursday, July 23rd. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Quest Diagnostics from a “buy (b+)” rating to a “buy (a-)” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 12th. Finally, Robert W. Baird boosted their target price on Quest Diagnostics from $236.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, July 24th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have assigned a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $235.31.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, SVP Mark E. Delaney sold 1,600 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $235.18, for a total transaction of $376,288.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 10,335 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,430,585.30. This represents a 13.41% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO J. E. Davis sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $242.72, for a total value of $2,427,200.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 122,423 shares in the company, valued at approximately $29,714,510.56. This trade represents a 7.55% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold 34,277 shares of company stock valued at $8,316,493 over the last quarter. Insiders own 0.88% of the company’s stock.

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.