JPMorgan Chase & Co. Sells 161,895 Shares of Quest Diagnostics Incorporated $DGX

JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased its holdings in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) by 3.8% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 4,145,896 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 161,895 shares during the quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co.’s holdings in Quest Diagnostics were worth $719,438,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. JFS Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 114.3% in the fourth quarter. JFS Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 150 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 80 shares during the last quarter. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC grew its holdings in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 113.7% in the fourth quarter. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC now owns 156 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 83 shares during the last quarter. Sittner & Nelson LLC bought a new position in shares of Quest Diagnostics in the fourth quarter worth about $29,000. McIlrath & Eck LLC bought a new position in shares of Quest Diagnostics in the fourth quarter worth about $32,000. Finally, Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd bought a new position in shares of Quest Diagnostics in the third quarter worth about $33,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 88.06% of the company’s stock.

Quest Diagnostics Trading Up 3.8%

Shares of NYSE:DGX opened at $204.65 on Wednesday. The business’s 50-day moving average is $194.60 and its 200 day moving average is $191.58. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a 1 year low of $164.65 and a 1 year high of $213.50. The firm has a market capitalization of $22.65 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.61, a P/E/G ratio of 2.35 and a beta of 0.59. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67, a current ratio of 1.18 and a quick ratio of 1.08.

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

Quest Diagnostics Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 22nd. Investors 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 is currently 38.01%.

Quest Diagnostics declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a share repurchase plan on Tuesday, February 10th that permits the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the medical research company to repurchase up to 4.7% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are usually a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently commented on DGX. Evercore set a $225.00 price target on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a report on Tuesday, April 21st. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Quest Diagnostics from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, May 30th. Robert W. Baird upped 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. Citigroup upped their target price on Quest Diagnostics from $190.00 to $215.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 10th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $225.00 target price on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a report on Tuesday, April 21st. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $216.58.

Insider Activity

In related news, SVP Karthik Kuppusamy sold 8,147 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $200.00, for a total transaction of $1,629,400.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 13,510 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,702,000. This represents a 37.62% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at 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 dated Monday, June 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $194.14, for a total value of $1,941,400.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 132,423 shares in the company, valued at $25,708,601.22. This represents a 7.02% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Corporate 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.