M.D. Sass LLC Acquires Shares of 299,459 Quest Diagnostics Incorporated $DGX

M.D. Sass LLC bought a new position in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund bought 299,459 shares of the medical research company’s stock, valued at approximately $58,688,000. Quest Diagnostics makes up approximately 4.4% of M.D. Sass LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 9th biggest holding. M.D. Sass LLC owned 0.27% of Quest Diagnostics at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of DGX. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its position in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 346.5% during the 4th quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 24,949 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $4,329,000 after buying an additional 19,361 shares during the period. Davis Selected Advisers raised its position in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 16.8% in the 4th quarter. Davis Selected Advisers now owns 1,589,883 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $275,895,000 after acquiring an additional 228,271 shares during the period. Capital Management Associates Inc acquired a new stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $1,024,000. SG Americas Securities LLC boosted its stake in Quest Diagnostics by 694.2% during the 4th quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 179,653 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $31,175,000 after acquiring an additional 157,031 shares during the last quarter. Finally, ANTIPODES PARTNERS Ltd boosted its stake in Quest Diagnostics by 178.7% during the 4th quarter. ANTIPODES PARTNERS Ltd now owns 171,987 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $29,847,000 after acquiring an additional 110,280 shares during the last quarter. 88.06% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Quest Diagnostics News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Quest Diagnostics this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Quest Diagnostics beat Q2 expectations, reporting adjusted EPS of $3.12 versus estimates around $2.82-$2.81 and revenue of $3.04 billion versus about $2.97 billion expected, helped by stronger routine and preventive testing demand. Reuters article
• Positive Sentiment: The company raised its 2026 guidance, now expecting adjusted EPS of $11.05-$11.25 and revenue of $11.95 billion-$12.05 billion, both above prior expectations, which signals management sees the current demand strength continuing. Press release
• Positive Sentiment: Management and third-party coverage highlighted growing consumer interest in preventive health tests, suggesting Quest Diagnostics is benefiting from a favorable secular trend beyond one quarter’s results. Benzinga article
• Neutral Sentiment: Investors also focused on the Q2 earnings call transcript and presentation for details on margins, testing volumes, and the updated outlook, but the main takeaway remains the earnings beat and guidance raise. Earnings call transcript

Insider Transactions at Quest Diagnostics

In related news, CEO J. E. Davis sold 10,000 shares of Quest Diagnostics stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the chief executive officer owned 132,423 shares in the company, valued at approximately $25,708,601.22. This trade represents a 7.02% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, SVP Karthik Kuppusamy sold 8,147 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $200.00, for a total value of $1,629,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 13,510 shares in the company, valued at $2,702,000. This represents a 37.62% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Company insiders own 0.88% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

DGX has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Robert W. Baird upped their target price on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $232.00 to $236.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, July 13th. Weiss Ratings upgraded Quest Diagnostics from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b+)” rating in a report on Thursday, July 9th. Truist Financial boosted their price objective on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $220.00 to $225.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Evercore set a $225.00 price target on Quest Diagnostics in a research report on Tuesday, April 21st. Finally, Barclays restated an “overweight” rating and set a $250.00 price objective on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a research note on Thursday. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $224.36.

Quest Diagnostics Stock Performance

NYSE DGX opened at $227.51 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.18, a quick ratio of 1.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $202.40 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $197.37. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a 1 year low of $165.78 and a 1 year high of $237.78. The firm has a market capitalization of $25.19 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.14, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.50 and a beta of 0.58.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 23rd. The medical research company reported $3.12 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.82 by $0.30. The company had revenue of $3.04 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.97 billion. Quest Diagnostics had a net margin of 9.07% and a return on equity of 15.60%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 10.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.62 EPS. Quest Diagnostics has set its FY 2026 guidance at 11.050-11.250 EPS. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Quest Diagnostics Incorporated will post 10.72 EPS for the current year.

Quest Diagnostics Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 22nd. Investors of record on Wednesday, July 8th were paid a $0.86 dividend. This represents a $3.44 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.5%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, July 8th. Quest Diagnostics’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) 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.