TD Asset Management Inc Lowers Stock Position in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated $DGX

TD Asset Management Inc reduced its stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) by 54.5% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 54,988 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 65,893 shares during the period. TD Asset Management Inc’s holdings in Quest Diagnostics were worth $9,542,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. HB Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. HB Wealth Management LLC now owns 11,292 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $1,960,000 after buying an additional 58 shares in the last quarter. Ossiam raised its stake in Quest Diagnostics by 6.1% during the 3rd quarter. Ossiam now owns 1,059 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $202,000 after purchasing an additional 61 shares during the period. Independent Advisor Alliance raised its stake in Quest Diagnostics by 1.6% during the 4th quarter. Independent Advisor Alliance now owns 4,298 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $746,000 after purchasing an additional 66 shares during the period. Fulton Bank N.A. raised its stake in Quest Diagnostics by 1.7% during the 4th quarter. Fulton Bank N.A. now owns 4,180 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $725,000 after purchasing an additional 68 shares during the period. Finally, Checchi Capital Advisers LLC raised its stake in Quest Diagnostics by 5.6% during the 4th quarter. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC now owns 1,326 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $230,000 after purchasing an additional 70 shares during the period. 88.06% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently issued reports on DGX shares. Robert W. Baird lifted their target price on Quest Diagnostics from $224.00 to $229.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 22nd. Truist Financial lifted their target price on Quest Diagnostics from $220.00 to $225.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 22nd. Mizuho lifted their target price on Quest Diagnostics from $210.00 to $235.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 12th. Citigroup lifted their target price on Quest Diagnostics from $190.00 to $215.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 10th. Finally, Weiss Ratings downgraded Quest Diagnostics from a “buy (b+)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 19th. Seven investment 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 a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $216.58.

Quest Diagnostics Stock Performance

NYSE DGX opened at $204.65 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $22.65 billion, a PE ratio of 22.61, a P/E/G ratio of 2.35 and a beta of 0.59. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $194.60 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $191.58. 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 Incorporated has a 1-year low of $164.65 and a 1-year high of $213.50.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, April 21st. The medical research company reported $2.50 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.37 by $0.13. Quest Diagnostics had a net margin of 9.07% and a return on equity of 15.60%. The firm had revenue of $2.90 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.83 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.94 earnings per share. Quest Diagnostics’s revenue for the quarter 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 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Quest Diagnostics Dividend Announcement

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 issued a $0.86 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, July 8th. This represents a $3.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.7%. Quest Diagnostics’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 38.01%.

Quest Diagnostics declared that its board has authorized a stock buyback plan on Tuesday, February 10th that authorizes the company to buyback $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the medical research company to reacquire up to 4.7% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are often an indication that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, SVP Karthik Kuppusamy sold 8,147 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 4th. The shares were 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. This trade represents a 37.62% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO J. E. Davis sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, June 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $194.14, for a total transaction of $1,941,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 132,423 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $25,708,601.22. This trade represents a 7.02% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Company 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.