OP Asset Management Ltd Acquires Shares of 11,200 Quest Diagnostics Incorporated $DGX

OP Asset Management Ltd bought a new position in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm bought 11,200 shares of the medical research company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,195,000.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Quest Diagnostics by 1.0% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 14,392,082 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $2,497,458,000 after buying an additional 140,450 shares during the period. State Street Corp boosted its position in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 3.0% in the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 5,382,547 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $934,033,000 after acquiring an additional 158,617 shares during the period. Boston Partners grew its stake in Quest Diagnostics by 32.8% during the third quarter. Boston Partners now owns 4,036,881 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $767,978,000 after acquiring an additional 997,033 shares in the last quarter. Morgan Stanley grew its stake in Quest Diagnostics by 17.8% during the fourth quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 2,693,568 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $467,415,000 after acquiring an additional 406,658 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its holdings in Quest Diagnostics by 1.3% during the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,931,548 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $335,204,000 after acquiring an additional 24,038 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 88.06% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have commented on DGX. Truist Financial raised their price target on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $220.00 to $225.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Barclays upped their price target on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $225.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 22nd. UBS Group increased their price objective on Quest Diagnostics from $210.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Evercore set a $225.00 price objective on Quest Diagnostics in a research note on Tuesday, April 21st. Finally, Weiss Ratings cut Quest Diagnostics from a “buy (b+)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Quest Diagnostics presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $216.58.

Insider Transactions at Quest Diagnostics

In other Quest Diagnostics news, CEO J. E. Davis sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 132,423 shares in the company, valued at $25,708,601.22. This trade represents a 7.02% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, SVP Karthik Kuppusamy sold 8,147 shares of Quest Diagnostics stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 in the company, valued at $2,702,000. This trade represents a 37.62% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 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 Stock Down 0.1%

Shares of NYSE:DGX opened at $209.73 on Monday. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a 52-week low of $164.65 and a 52-week high of $213.50. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $195.83 and a 200 day moving average of $192.87. The firm has a market capitalization of $23.22 billion, a PE ratio of 23.17, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.50 and a beta of 0.59. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67, a quick ratio of 1.08 and a current ratio of 1.18.

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

Quest Diagnostics Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 22nd. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, July 8th will be given a dividend of $0.86 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, July 8th. This represents a $3.44 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.6%. Quest Diagnostics’s dividend payout ratio is 38.01%.

Quest Diagnostics Company 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.