Integral Health Asset Management LLC Sells 65,000 Shares of Quest Diagnostics Incorporated $DGX

Integral Health Asset Management LLC cut its position in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) by 43.3% in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 85,000 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 65,000 shares during the quarter. Quest Diagnostics makes up approximately 1.1% of Integral Health Asset Management LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 22nd largest holding. Integral Health Asset Management LLC owned about 0.08% of Quest Diagnostics worth $16,199,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. iSAM Funds UK Ltd purchased a new stake in Quest Diagnostics during the third quarter valued at approximately $1,470,000. NorthRock Partners LLC acquired a new position in Quest Diagnostics during the 3rd quarter valued at about $260,000. Bank OZK boosted its holdings in Quest Diagnostics by 4.6% in the third quarter. Bank OZK now owns 14,431 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $2,750,000 after acquiring an additional 629 shares in the last quarter. Prudential PLC boosted its holdings in Quest Diagnostics by 13.0% in the third quarter. Prudential PLC now owns 49,277 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $9,391,000 after acquiring an additional 5,677 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. grew its position in Quest Diagnostics by 57.8% during the 3rd quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. now owns 576 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $110,000 after purchasing an additional 211 shares during the last quarter. 88.06% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

DGX has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price target on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $215.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 10th. Truist Financial raised their price target on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $205.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 11th. UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $190.00 to $210.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 11th. Barclays increased their price target on Quest Diagnostics from $210.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 11th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a report on Monday, December 29th. Eight equities 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 company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $210.29.

Quest Diagnostics Trading Down 0.6%

Shares of NYSE:DGX opened at $199.61 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $21.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.81, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.59 and a beta of 0.66. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $194.29 and its 200-day moving average price is $186.39. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72, a current ratio of 1.04 and a quick ratio of 0.96. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a 1 year low of $157.20 and a 1 year high of $213.50.

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

Quest Diagnostics Increases Dividend

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

Quest Diagnostics declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share buyback program 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 stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are typically an indication that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Transactions at Quest Diagnostics

In other news, SVP Karthik Kuppusamy sold 2,628 shares of Quest Diagnostics stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $204.86, for a total value of $538,372.08. Following the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 13,441 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,753,523.26. The trade was a 16.35% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, SVP Michael E. Prevoznik sold 3,878 shares of Quest Diagnostics stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $206.21, for a total transaction of $799,682.38. Following the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 37,557 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,744,628.97. This trade represents a 9.36% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 24,083 shares of company stock worth $4,945,262. 8.16% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.