EdgePoint Investment Group Inc. Increases Stock Position in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated $DGX

EdgePoint Investment Group Inc. boosted its position in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) by 66,757.0% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 849,752 shares of the medical research company’s stock after acquiring an additional 848,481 shares during the period. Quest Diagnostics accounts for 1.2% of EdgePoint Investment Group Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 21st biggest position. EdgePoint Investment Group Inc.’s holdings in Quest Diagnostics were worth $161,946,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. MTM Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics during the second quarter worth about $29,000. True Wealth Design LLC grew its stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 369.7% in the third quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 155 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 122 shares during the last quarter. First Horizon Corp purchased a new position in Quest Diagnostics during the 3rd quarter valued at about $33,000. Rexford Capital Inc. purchased a new position in Quest Diagnostics during the 2nd quarter valued at about $36,000. Finally, Wellington Shields Capital Management LLC bought a new position in Quest Diagnostics during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $38,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 88.06% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Quest Diagnostics

In other news, EVP Catherine T. Doherty sold 5,558 shares of the business’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 $1,146,115.18. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 67,122 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,841,227.62. The trade was a 7.65% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, SVP Michael E. Prevoznik sold 3,878 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $206.21, for a total transaction of $799,682.38. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 37,557 shares in the company, valued at $7,744,628.97. This represents a 9.36% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last three months, insiders sold 24,083 shares of company stock worth $4,945,262. Corporate insiders own 8.16% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

DGX has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Citigroup increased their price objective on Quest Diagnostics from $190.00 to $215.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 10th. UBS Group upped their target price on Quest Diagnostics from $190.00 to $210.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 11th. Mizuho raised their price target on Quest Diagnostics from $210.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 12th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a report on Monday, December 29th. Finally, Truist Financial boosted 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. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Quest Diagnostics presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $210.29.

Quest Diagnostics Stock Down 0.6%

DGX stock opened at $199.61 on Friday. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $157.20 and a fifty-two week high of $213.50. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $194.29 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $186.44. 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 company has a market capitalization of $21.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.81, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.58 and a beta of 0.66.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, February 10th. The medical research company reported $2.42 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.35 by $0.07. Quest Diagnostics had a return on equity of 15.57% and a net margin of 8.99%.The company had revenue of $2.81 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.75 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.23 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter 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. As a group, analysts forecast 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 authorized a share buyback plan on Tuesday, February 10th that allows the company to buyback $1.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the medical research company to buy up to 4.7% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are usually a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Quest Diagnostics Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 20th. Shareholders of record on Monday, April 6th will be given a dividend of $0.86 per share. This is an increase from Quest Diagnostics’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.80. This represents a $3.44 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, April 6th. Quest Diagnostics’s payout ratio is 39.31%.

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.