Conning Inc. Purchases 2,644 Shares of Quest Diagnostics Incorporated $DGX

Conning Inc. boosted its position in shares of Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) by 1.5% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 175,906 shares of the medical research company’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,644 shares during the period. Conning Inc.’s holdings in Quest Diagnostics were worth $34,474,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of DGX. Key Financial Inc increased its position in shares of 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 in the last quarter. Quattro Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Quest Diagnostics during the 4th quarter worth $25,000. JFS Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position in Quest Diagnostics by 114.3% during the 4th quarter. JFS Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 150 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 80 shares in the last quarter. Sittner & Nelson LLC purchased a new stake in Quest Diagnostics in the fourth quarter valued at about $29,000. Finally, DV Equities LLC acquired a new stake in Quest Diagnostics in the fourth quarter worth about $27,000. 88.06% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Quest Diagnostics

In other Quest Diagnostics news, SVP Karthik Kuppusamy sold 8,147 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $200.00, for a total value of $1,629,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 13,510 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,702,000. The trade was a 37.62% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO J. E. Davis sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $194.14, for a total value of $1,941,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 132,423 shares in the company, valued at approximately $25,708,601.22. This represents a 7.02% 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. Company insiders own 0.88% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Quest Diagnostics from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Sunday, June 28th. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $225.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Robert W. Baird raised their price target on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $224.00 to $229.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Truist Financial lifted their price objective on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $220.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 22nd. Finally, UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $210.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $216.58.

Quest Diagnostics Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:DGX opened at $207.60 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.18, a quick ratio of 1.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a twelve month low of $164.65 and a twelve month high of $219.20. The company’s 50 day moving average is $198.87 and its 200 day moving average is $195.04. The company has a market cap of $22.98 billion, a PE ratio of 22.94, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.48 and a beta of 0.58.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 21st. The medical research company reported $2.50 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.37 by $0.13. The business had revenue of $2.90 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.83 billion. Quest Diagnostics had a net margin of 9.07% and a return on equity of 15.60%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.94 EPS. Quest Diagnostics has set its FY 2026 guidance at 10.630-10.830 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Quest Diagnostics Incorporated will post 10.72 EPS for the current year.

Quest Diagnostics Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 22nd. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, July 8th will be given a dividend of $0.86 per share. This represents a $3.44 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, July 8th. Quest Diagnostics’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 38.01%.

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.