Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC Boosts Stake in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated $DGX

Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC lifted its holdings in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) by 50.6% in the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 15,775 shares of the medical research company’s stock after purchasing an additional 5,297 shares during the quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC’s holdings in Quest Diagnostics were worth $2,872,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Perigon Wealth Management LLC increased its position in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 4.5% in the third quarter. Perigon Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,275 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $243,000 after buying an additional 55 shares in the last quarter. True North Advisors LLC raised its position in Quest Diagnostics by 4.1% during the third quarter. True North Advisors LLC now owns 1,554 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $296,000 after acquiring an additional 61 shares during the period. World Investment Advisors lifted its holdings in Quest Diagnostics by 2.7% during the second quarter. World Investment Advisors now owns 2,623 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $471,000 after purchasing an additional 68 shares in the last quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. grew its position in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 0.6% in the second quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 10,789 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $1,938,000 after purchasing an additional 69 shares during the period. Finally, Personal CFO Solutions LLC increased its stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 2.3% during the second quarter. Personal CFO Solutions LLC now owns 3,055 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $549,000 after purchasing an additional 70 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 88.06% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on DGX shares. Evercore ISI raised their price target on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $185.00 to $190.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Piper Sandler raised their price target on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $190.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, October 27th. UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $180.00 to $190.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, October 17th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Quest Diagnostics from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, November 8th. Finally, Mizuho boosted their target price on Quest Diagnostics from $190.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, October 17th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $197.27.

Quest Diagnostics Stock Down 0.2%

DGX stock opened at $177.76 on Friday. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a one year low of $148.70 and a one year high of $197.55. The firm has a market cap of $19.77 billion, a PE ratio of 20.86, a PEG ratio of 2.27 and a beta of 0.64. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $181.30 and its 200-day moving average price is $179.65. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a current ratio of 1.13.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, October 21st. The medical research company reported $2.60 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 company had revenue of $2.82 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.73 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.30 earnings per share. The firm’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, equities research analysts anticipate that Quest Diagnostics Incorporated will post 9.7 EPS for the current year.

Quest Diagnostics Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Activity at Quest Diagnostics

In other news, Director Gary M. Pfeiffer sold 1,482 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $182.40, for a total value of $270,316.80. Following the sale, the director directly owned 29,431 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,368,214.40. The trade was a 4.79% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Vicky B. Gregg sold 1,250 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $191.76, for a total transaction of $239,700.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 17,037 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,267,015.12. This represents a 6.84% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 65,771 shares of company stock worth $12,588,676. 8.16% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.