ANTIPODES PARTNERS Ltd Has $11.76 Million Stock Position in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated $DGX

ANTIPODES PARTNERS Ltd lifted its holdings in shares of Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) by 6,070.7% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 61,707 shares of the medical research company’s stock after purchasing an additional 60,707 shares during the period. ANTIPODES PARTNERS Ltd’s holdings in Quest Diagnostics were worth $11,761,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. Brighton Jones LLC acquired a new position in Quest Diagnostics during the 4th quarter worth about $323,000. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC raised its position in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 25.1% during the second quarter. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC now owns 1,434 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $245,000 after acquiring an additional 288 shares during the last quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. bought a new position in shares of Quest Diagnostics during the second quarter worth about $201,000. Brookstone Capital Management lifted its stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 5.8% in the second quarter. Brookstone Capital Management now owns 2,964 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $532,000 after acquiring an additional 163 shares during the period. Finally, Asset Management One Co. Ltd. boosted its holdings in Quest Diagnostics by 2.8% in the second quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. now owns 45,967 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $8,257,000 after acquiring an additional 1,238 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 88.06% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

DGX has been the subject of several analyst reports. Robert W. Baird set a $219.00 price target on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a report on Wednesday, February 11th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Quest Diagnostics from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, February 14th. UBS Group upped their price target on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $190.00 to $210.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 11th. Finally, Evercore set a $220.00 price objective on Quest Diagnostics in a research report on Wednesday, February 11th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $210.29.

Quest Diagnostics Stock Performance

Shares of Quest Diagnostics stock opened at $202.28 on Friday. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $185.58 and a 200 day simple moving average of $183.61. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a one year low of $157.20 and a one year high of $213.20. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72, a current ratio of 1.04 and a quick ratio of 0.96. The firm has a market capitalization of $22.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.12, a PEG ratio of 2.61 and a beta of 0.66.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 10th. The medical research company reported $2.42 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.35 by $0.07. Quest Diagnostics had a return on equity of 15.57% and a net margin of 8.99%.The firm had revenue of $2.81 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.75 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.23 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter 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 anticipate that Quest Diagnostics Incorporated will post 9.7 earnings per share 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. Shareholders of record on Monday, April 6th will be paid a dividend of $0.86 per share. This is a boost from Quest Diagnostics’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.80. The ex-dividend date is Monday, April 6th. This represents a $3.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.7%. Quest Diagnostics’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 36.57%.

Quest Diagnostics declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback plan on Tuesday, February 10th that authorizes the company to buyback $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the medical research company to reacquire up to 4.7% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are typically an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Vicky B. Gregg sold 1,250 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $191.76, for a total value of $239,700.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 17,037 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,267,015.12. This trade represents a 6.84% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, SVP Patrick Plewman sold 5,662 shares of Quest Diagnostics stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $204.00, for a total value of $1,155,048.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 15,381 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,137,724. This trade represents a 26.91% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 65,507 shares of company stock valued at $12,702,039. 8.16% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.