11,812 Shares in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated $DGX Bought by Eastern Bank

Eastern Bank bought a new stake in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm bought 11,812 shares of the medical research company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,050,000.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Perigon Wealth Management LLC raised 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 period. Independent Advisor Alliance boosted its position in Quest Diagnostics by 1.4% during the 3rd quarter. Independent Advisor Alliance now owns 4,232 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $807,000 after purchasing an additional 59 shares during the period. True North Advisors LLC boosted its position in Quest Diagnostics by 4.1% during the 3rd quarter. True North Advisors LLC now owns 1,554 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $296,000 after purchasing an additional 61 shares during the period. Ossiam grew its stake in Quest Diagnostics by 6.1% during the 3rd quarter. Ossiam now owns 1,059 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $202,000 after buying an additional 61 shares during the last quarter. Finally, OLD Second National Bank of Aurora grew its stake in Quest Diagnostics by 14.9% during the 3rd quarter. OLD Second National Bank of Aurora now owns 517 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $99,000 after buying an additional 67 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 88.06% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Quest Diagnostics

In related news, SVP Patrick Plewman sold 5,662 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $204.00, for a total transaction of $1,155,048.00. Following the completion of 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 ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, SVP Karthik Kuppusamy sold 2,628 shares of Quest Diagnostics stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $204.86, for a total value of $538,372.08. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 13,441 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,753,523.26. The trade was a 16.35% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold a total of 24,083 shares of company stock valued at $4,945,262 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 8.16% of the company’s stock.

Quest Diagnostics Stock Performance

Shares of DGX opened at $195.59 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $21.49 billion, a PE ratio of 22.35, a P/E/G ratio of 2.52 and a beta of 0.66. The company has a quick ratio of 0.96, a current ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $197.44 and a 200 day moving average price of $187.57. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a 52-week low of $157.20 and a 52-week high of $213.50.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 10th. The medical research company reported $2.42 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.35 by $0.07. The company had revenue of $2.81 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.75 billion. Quest Diagnostics had a net margin of 8.99% and a return on equity of 15.57%. Quest Diagnostics’s revenue was up 7.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $2.23 EPS. Quest Diagnostics has set its FY 2026 guidance at 9.45-9.650 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Quest Diagnostics Incorporated will post 9.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Quest Diagnostics declared that its board has authorized a stock buyback 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 buy up to 4.7% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are often an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Quest Diagnostics Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 20th. Shareholders of record on Monday, April 6th will be given a $0.86 dividend. This represents a $3.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.8%. This is a positive change from Quest Diagnostics’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.80. The ex-dividend date is Monday, April 6th. Quest Diagnostics’s payout ratio is currently 39.31%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

DGX has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Robert W. Baird set a $219.00 price target on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a research report on Wednesday, February 11th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price objective on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $215.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 10th. Citigroup lifted their price objective on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $190.00 to $215.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 10th. Finally, Mizuho upped their target price on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $210.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 12th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $210.29.

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.