USS Investment Management Ltd Boosts Stake in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated $DGX

USS Investment Management Ltd boosted its holdings in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) by 18.5% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 19,068 shares of the medical research company’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,971 shares during the quarter. USS Investment Management Ltd’s holdings in Quest Diagnostics were worth $3,737,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in DGX. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Quest Diagnostics by 3.7% during the fourth quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC now owns 1,387 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $241,000 after buying an additional 50 shares in the last quarter. HB Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. HB Wealth Management LLC now owns 11,292 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $1,960,000 after buying an additional 58 shares in the last quarter. Ossiam lifted its position in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 6.1% during the 3rd quarter. Ossiam now owns 1,059 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $202,000 after acquiring an additional 61 shares during the last quarter. Independent Advisor Alliance lifted its position in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 1.6% during the 4th quarter. Independent Advisor Alliance now owns 4,298 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $746,000 after acquiring an additional 66 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Fulton Bank N.A. boosted its stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 1.7% during the 4th quarter. Fulton Bank N.A. now owns 4,180 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $725,000 after acquiring an additional 68 shares in the last quarter. 88.06% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on DGX. Barclays lifted their target price on Quest Diagnostics from $225.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Weiss Ratings lowered Quest Diagnostics from a “buy (b+)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 24th. Truist Financial lifted their price target on Quest Diagnostics from $220.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 22nd. UBS Group boosted their price objective on Quest Diagnostics from $210.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $225.00 price objective on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a research note 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 stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $216.58.

Insider Transactions at Quest Diagnostics

In related news, SVP Karthik Kuppusamy sold 8,147 shares of the firm’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 transaction of $1,629,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 13,510 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,702,000. This trade represents a 37.62% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO J. E. Davis sold 10,000 shares of the business’s 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. The trade was a 7.02% decrease in their ownership of the stock. 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. 0.88% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Quest Diagnostics Price Performance

DGX opened at $215.35 on Friday. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $197.41 and a 200-day moving average of $193.95. The firm has a market capitalization of $23.84 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.80, a PEG ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 0.58. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a 12-month low of $164.65 and a 12-month high of $217.41. The company has a quick ratio of 1.08, a current ratio of 1.18 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67.

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

Quest Diagnostics Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 22nd. Shareholders 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 yield of 1.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, July 8th. Quest Diagnostics’s payout ratio is 38.01%.

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.