Sterling Capital Management LLC Decreases Stock Holdings in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated $DGX

Sterling Capital Management LLC lowered its position in shares of Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) by 43.2% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 3,755 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 2,854 shares during the period. Sterling Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Quest Diagnostics were worth $736,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. OLD National Bancorp IN raised its position in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 8.0% during the 1st quarter. OLD National Bancorp IN now owns 23,951 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $4,694,000 after acquiring an additional 1,783 shares in the last quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System purchased a new position in Quest Diagnostics in the first quarter valued at approximately $1,097,000. First American Bank raised its holdings in Quest Diagnostics by 2.6% during the first quarter. First American Bank now owns 3,472 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $680,000 after purchasing an additional 89 shares in the last quarter. Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC lifted its position in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 100.8% during the 1st quarter. Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC now owns 5,848 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $1,146,000 after buying an additional 2,935 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Breakwater Capital Group acquired a new position in shares of Quest Diagnostics in the 1st quarter valued at $1,074,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 88.06% of the company’s stock.

Quest Diagnostics Price Performance

Shares of DGX opened at $216.23 on Thursday. 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 Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $164.65 and a fifty-two week high of $216.87. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $196.97 and a 200-day simple moving average of $193.57. The company has a market capitalization of $23.94 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.89, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.53 and a beta of 0.58.

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

Quest Diagnostics Announces Dividend

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Quest Diagnostics

In related news, CEO J. E. Davis sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, June 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $194.14, for a total transaction of $1,941,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 132,423 shares of the company’s stock, 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 document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, SVP Karthik Kuppusamy sold 8,147 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $200.00, for a total transaction of $1,629,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 13,510 shares in the company, valued at $2,702,000. This 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. 0.88% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently commented on the stock. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Quest Diagnostics from a “buy (b+)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 24th. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $225.00 to $230.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 22nd. Wall Street Zen lowered Quest Diagnostics from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Sunday. Evercore set a $225.00 target price on Quest Diagnostics in a research report on Tuesday, April 21st. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $225.00 target price on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a report on Tuesday, April 21st. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $216.58.

About Quest Diagnostics

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.