Quest Diagnostics Incorporated $DGX Shares Purchased by Toth Financial Advisory Corp

Toth Financial Advisory Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) by 10.2% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 29,552 shares of the medical research company’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,731 shares during the period. Toth Financial Advisory Corp’s holdings in Quest Diagnostics were worth $5,128,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. JFS Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 114.3% during the fourth quarter. JFS Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 150 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 80 shares during the period. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC grew its holdings in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 113.7% during the fourth quarter. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC now owns 156 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 83 shares during the last quarter. True Wealth Design LLC increased its position in Quest Diagnostics by 369.7% in the 3rd quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 155 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 122 shares during the period. First Horizon Corp purchased a new stake in Quest Diagnostics during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Finally, Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd purchased a new stake in Quest Diagnostics during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $33,000. 88.06% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have weighed in on DGX. Robert W. Baird set a $219.00 target price on Quest Diagnostics in a research note on Wednesday, February 11th. Wall Street Zen downgraded Quest Diagnostics from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Sunday, March 15th. Truist Financial lifted their price objective on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $205.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 11th. Mizuho boosted their price objective on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $210.00 to $235.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 12th. Finally, Barclays upped their price objective on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $210.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 11th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $211.46.

Quest Diagnostics Stock Performance

NYSE DGX opened at $197.97 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.04, a quick ratio of 0.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72. The business’s 50 day moving average is $198.66 and its two-hundred day moving average is $188.02. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a 12-month low of $157.20 and a 12-month high of $213.50. The stock has a market capitalization of $21.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.63, a PEG ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 0.66.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 10th. The medical research company reported $2.42 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.35 by $0.07. Quest Diagnostics had a return on equity of 15.57% and a net margin of 8.99%.The business had revenue of $2.81 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.75 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.23 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 7.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Quest Diagnostics has set its FY 2026 guidance at 9.45-9.650 EPS. Research analysts expect that Quest Diagnostics Incorporated will post 9.7 EPS for the current year.

Quest Diagnostics Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 20th. Shareholders of record on Monday, April 6th will be issued a $0.86 dividend. This represents a $3.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.7%. This is an increase from Quest Diagnostics’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.80. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, April 6th. Quest Diagnostics’s dividend payout ratio is 36.57%.

Quest Diagnostics announced that its board has initiated a share buyback plan on Tuesday, February 10th that authorizes the company to buyback $1.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the medical research company to repurchase up to 4.7% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are generally an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Activity at Quest Diagnostics

In other news, SVP Patrick Plewman sold 2,855 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $206.21, for a total transaction of $588,729.55. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 15,198 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,133,979.58. This represents a 15.81% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Catherine T. Doherty sold 5,558 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $206.21, for a total transaction of $1,146,115.18. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 67,122 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $13,841,227.62. This represents a 7.65% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold a total of 24,083 shares of company stock valued at $4,945,262 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 8.16% of the company’s stock.

Quest Diagnostics Company 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.