Quest Diagnostics Incorporated $DGX Shares Sold by Copeland Capital Management LLC

Copeland Capital Management LLC lessened its holdings in shares of Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) by 4.5% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 168,375 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 7,889 shares during the period. Copeland Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Quest Diagnostics were worth $32,089,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in DGX. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. grew its position in Quest Diagnostics by 126.9% during the 2nd quarter. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. now owns 152 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 85 shares during the period. MTM Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in Quest Diagnostics during the second quarter worth about $29,000. AlphaQuest LLC raised its position in Quest Diagnostics by 18,400.0% during the second quarter. AlphaQuest LLC now owns 185 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 184 shares in the last quarter. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC acquired a new position in Quest Diagnostics in the second quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Finally, Rexford Capital Inc. purchased a new stake in Quest Diagnostics in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $36,000. 88.06% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

DGX has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a report on Monday, December 22nd. Piper Sandler upped their price objective on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $190.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, October 27th. Morgan Stanley set a $207.00 target price on Quest Diagnostics and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 22nd. Truist Financial lifted their price target on Quest Diagnostics from $195.00 to $205.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 22nd. Finally, Evercore ISI upped their price target on Quest Diagnostics from $185.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have assigned a Buy rating and ten have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $197.27.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Quest Diagnostics news, Director Gary M. Pfeiffer sold 1,482 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $182.40, for a total value of $270,316.80. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 29,431 shares in the company, valued at $5,368,214.40. The trade was a 4.79% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Vicky B. Gregg sold 1,250 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $191.76, for a total value of $239,700.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 17,037 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,267,015.12. The trade was a 6.84% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold a total of 65,771 shares of company stock worth $12,588,676 in the last three months. Company insiders own 8.16% of the company’s stock.

Quest Diagnostics Trading Down 0.3%

DGX stock opened at $175.47 on Tuesday. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a 12-month low of $148.70 and a 12-month high of $197.55. The business’s 50-day moving average is $182.00 and its 200 day moving average is $179.88. The company has a current ratio of 1.13, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71. The stock has a market cap of $19.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.60, a PEG ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 0.62.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, October 21st. The medical research company reported $2.60 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.51 by $0.09. Quest Diagnostics had a return on equity of 15.47% and a net margin of 8.91%.The business had revenue of $2.82 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.73 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.30 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 13.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Quest Diagnostics has set its FY 2025 guidance at 9.760-9.840 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Quest Diagnostics Incorporated will post 9.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Quest Diagnostics Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 28th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, January 13th will be issued a $0.80 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, January 13th. This represents a $3.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.8%. Quest Diagnostics’s dividend payout ratio is presently 37.56%.

About Quest Diagnostics

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.