Quest Diagnostics Incorporated $DGX Shares Sold by Forsta AP Fonden

Forsta AP Fonden reduced its stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) by 17.0% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 21,000 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 4,300 shares during the period. Forsta AP Fonden’s holdings in Quest Diagnostics were worth $3,644,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. HB Wealth Management LLC raised its position in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. HB Wealth Management LLC now owns 11,292 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $1,960,000 after purchasing an additional 58 shares during the last quarter. Independent Advisor Alliance raised its position in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 1.4% during the 3rd quarter. Independent Advisor Alliance now owns 4,232 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $807,000 after purchasing an additional 59 shares during the last quarter. Ossiam raised 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 worth $202,000 after purchasing an additional 61 shares during the last quarter. Fulton Bank N.A. raised its position 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 purchasing an additional 68 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Checchi Capital Advisers LLC raised its position in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 5.6% during the 4th quarter. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC now owns 1,326 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $230,000 after purchasing an additional 70 shares during the last quarter. 88.06% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Quest Diagnostics Trading Up 0.4%

Shares of DGX opened at $192.93 on Wednesday. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $194.42 and a two-hundred day moving average of $191.11. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67, a quick ratio of 1.08 and a current ratio of 1.18. The company has a market capitalization of $21.36 billion, a PE ratio of 21.32, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.29 and a beta of 0.59. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $164.65 and a fifty-two week high of $213.50.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 21st. The medical research company reported $2.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.83 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.94 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue 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. As a group, analysts forecast that Quest Diagnostics Incorporated will post 10.72 EPS for the current year.

Quest Diagnostics announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a share repurchase program 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 shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are often an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Quest Diagnostics Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 22nd. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, July 8th will be paid a dividend of $0.86 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, July 8th. This represents a $3.44 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.8%. Quest Diagnostics’s payout ratio is currently 38.01%.

Insider Activity at Quest Diagnostics

In other news, CEO J. E. Davis sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 132,423 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $25,708,601.22. The trade was a 7.02% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, SVP Michael E. Prevoznik sold 3,878 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $206.21, for a total transaction of $799,682.38. Following the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 37,557 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,744,628.97. This represents a 9.36% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold 22,291 shares of company stock valued at $4,475,927 over the last quarter. 0.88% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Barclays lifted their price objective on Quest Diagnostics from $225.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Mizuho boosted their price target on Quest Diagnostics from $210.00 to $235.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, February 12th. Wall Street Zen downgraded Quest Diagnostics from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday. Truist Financial boosted their price target on Quest Diagnostics from $220.00 to $225.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Finally, Weiss Ratings downgraded Quest Diagnostics from a “buy (b+)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 19th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $216.58.

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.