Quest Diagnostics Incorporated $DGX Stock Holdings Lifted by Tredje AP fonden

Tredje AP fonden grew its stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) by 8.3% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 32,591 shares of the medical research company’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,490 shares during the period. Tredje AP fonden’s holdings in Quest Diagnostics were worth $6,211,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of DGX. MTM Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in Quest Diagnostics during the 2nd quarter worth about $29,000. True Wealth Design LLC increased its holdings in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 122 shares during the period. AlphaQuest LLC lifted its position in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 18,400.0% in the second quarter. AlphaQuest LLC now owns 185 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 184 shares in the last quarter. First Horizon Corp acquired a new stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics during the third quarter worth approximately $33,000. Finally, Rexford Capital Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics during the second quarter worth approximately $36,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 88.06% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Quest Diagnostics

In other Quest Diagnostics news, CEO J. E. Davis sold 55,093 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $192.22, for a total value of $10,589,976.46. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 120,480 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $23,158,665.60. This represents a 31.38% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, SVP Michael E. Prevoznik sold 1,111 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $204.83, for a total transaction of $227,566.13. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 38,371 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,859,531.93. The trade was a 2.81% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 65,507 shares of company stock worth $12,702,039. Corporate insiders own 8.16% of the company’s stock.

Quest Diagnostics Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE DGX opened at $202.28 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72, a quick ratio of 0.96 and a current ratio of 1.04. The firm has a market cap of $22.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.12, a P/E/G ratio of 2.61 and a beta of 0.66. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $185.58 and its 200-day simple moving average is $183.68. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a 52 week low of $157.20 and a 52 week high of $213.20.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, February 10th. The medical research company reported $2.42 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 firm had revenue of $2.81 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.75 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $2.23 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.1% on a year-over-year basis. Quest Diagnostics has set its FY 2026 guidance at 9.45-9.650 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Quest Diagnostics Incorporated will post 9.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Quest Diagnostics declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase plan on Tuesday, February 10th that permits the company to buyback $1.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the medical research company to purchase up to 4.7% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are often a sign that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Quest Diagnostics Increases Dividend

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have issued reports on DGX. UBS Group increased their target price on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $190.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 11th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price objective on Quest Diagnostics from $215.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 10th. Mizuho boosted 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. Barclays raised their price target on Quest Diagnostics from $210.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 11th. Finally, Piper Sandler boosted their price target on Quest Diagnostics from $190.00 to $200.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, October 27th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $210.29.

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.