Quest Diagnostics Incorporated $DGX Stock Holdings Lifted by Cibc World Market Inc.

Cibc World Market Inc. increased its holdings in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) by 209.6% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 7,765 shares of the medical research company’s stock after acquiring an additional 5,257 shares during the period. Cibc World Market Inc.’s holdings in Quest Diagnostics were worth $1,480,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Perigon Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 4.5% during the 3rd quarter. Perigon Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,275 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $243,000 after purchasing an additional 55 shares during the last quarter. Independent Advisor Alliance boosted its stake in Quest Diagnostics by 1.4% during the third quarter. Independent Advisor Alliance now owns 4,232 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $807,000 after buying an additional 59 shares in the last quarter. True North Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Quest Diagnostics by 4.1% in the 3rd quarter. True North Advisors LLC now owns 1,554 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $296,000 after buying an additional 61 shares during the period. OLD Second National Bank of Aurora increased its stake in Quest Diagnostics by 14.9% in the third quarter. OLD Second National Bank of Aurora now owns 517 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $99,000 after acquiring an additional 67 shares during the period. Finally, World Investment Advisors raised its position in Quest Diagnostics by 2.7% in the second quarter. World Investment Advisors now owns 2,623 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $471,000 after purchasing an additional 68 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 88.06% of the company’s stock.

Quest Diagnostics Price Performance

NYSE:DGX opened at $206.66 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.04, a quick ratio of 0.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72. The stock has a market capitalization of $22.99 billion, a PE ratio of 23.62, a P/E/G ratio of 2.67 and a beta of 0.66. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a 1-year low of $157.20 and a 1-year high of $213.20. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $183.74 and a 200 day simple moving average of $182.88.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, February 10th. The medical research company reported $2.42 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.35 by $0.07. Quest Diagnostics had a net margin of 8.99% and a return on equity of 15.57%. The business had revenue of $2.81 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.75 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.23 EPS. Quest Diagnostics’s revenue 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. On average, research analysts expect that Quest Diagnostics Incorporated will post 9.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Quest Diagnostics Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 20th. Stockholders of record on Monday, April 6th will be issued a dividend of $0.86 per share. This is an increase from Quest Diagnostics’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.80. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, April 6th. This represents a $3.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.7%. Quest Diagnostics’s payout ratio is presently 36.57%.

Quest Diagnostics declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase 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 repurchase up to 4.7% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are usually a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have weighed in on DGX. Mizuho lifted their price objective on Quest Diagnostics from $210.00 to $235.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, February 12th. UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $190.00 to $210.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 11th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price objective on Quest Diagnostics from $215.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 10th. Finally, Morgan Stanley set a $207.00 price objective on Quest Diagnostics and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 22nd. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Quest Diagnostics currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $208.93.

Insider Activity at Quest Diagnostics

In other Quest Diagnostics news, Director Vicky B. Gregg sold 1,250 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $191.76, for a total value of $239,700.00. Following the sale, the director owned 17,037 shares in the company, valued at $3,267,015.12. This trade represents a 6.84% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CEO J. E. Davis sold 55,093 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $192.22, for a total value of $10,589,976.46. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 120,480 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $23,158,665.60. The trade was a 31.38% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last three months, insiders have sold 62,005 shares of company stock valued at $11,984,724. 8.16% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.