Quest Diagnostics Incorporated $DGX Shares Sold by Geode Capital Management LLC

Geode Capital Management LLC cut its holdings in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) by 0.3% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 3,028,207 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 8,278 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Quest Diagnostics were worth $523,515,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in DGX. Boston Partners increased its stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 32.8% during the third quarter. Boston Partners now owns 4,036,881 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $767,978,000 after acquiring an additional 997,033 shares during the period. EdgePoint Investment Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 66,757.0% during the third quarter. EdgePoint Investment Group Inc. now owns 849,752 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $161,946,000 after acquiring an additional 848,481 shares during the period. UBS Group AG increased its stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 67.8% during the fourth quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 1,114,451 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $193,391,000 after acquiring an additional 450,161 shares during the period. Bank of America Corp DE increased its stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 36.3% during the second quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 1,599,602 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $287,337,000 after acquiring an additional 426,399 shares during the period. Finally, Marshall Wace LLP increased its stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 171.7% during the third quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 557,155 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $106,183,000 after acquiring an additional 352,072 shares during the period. 88.06% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Quest Diagnostics

In other Quest Diagnostics news, SVP Michael E. Prevoznik sold 3,878 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $206.21, for a total transaction of $799,682.38. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 37,557 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,744,628.97. This represents a 9.36% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, SVP Karthik Kuppusamy sold 2,628 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $204.86, for a total transaction of $538,372.08. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 13,441 shares in the company, valued at $2,753,523.26. This trade represents a 16.35% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 14,919 shares of company stock valued at $3,072,899. 0.88% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

DGX has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Robert W. Baird boosted their price target on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $224.00 to $229.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 22nd. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $225.00 price target on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a research note on Tuesday, April 21st. Evercore set a $225.00 price target on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a research note on Tuesday, April 21st. Citigroup boosted their price target on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $190.00 to $215.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 10th. Finally, Mizuho boosted their price target on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $210.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 12th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $216.58.

Quest Diagnostics Trading Down 0.1%

Shares of DGX opened at $194.78 on Monday. 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 50-day moving average is $194.46 and its two-hundred day moving average is $191.09. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a twelve month low of $164.65 and a twelve month high of $213.50. The firm has a market capitalization of $21.56 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.52, a PEG ratio of 2.32 and a beta of 0.59.

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

Quest Diagnostics announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase plan on Tuesday, February 10th that allows the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the medical research company to buy up to 4.7% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are typically a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Quest Diagnostics Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 22nd. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, July 8th will be given a dividend of $0.86 per share. This represents a $3.44 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.8%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, July 8th. Quest Diagnostics’s dividend payout ratio is presently 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.