Hsbc Holdings PLC Buys 14,361 Shares of Quest Diagnostics Incorporated $DGX

Hsbc Holdings PLC grew its stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) by 6.8% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 227,107 shares of the medical research company’s stock after acquiring an additional 14,361 shares during the period. Hsbc Holdings PLC owned 0.21% of Quest Diagnostics worth $39,488,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Quattro Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Quest Diagnostics during the fourth quarter worth approximately $25,000. JFS Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Quest Diagnostics by 114.3% in the 4th quarter. JFS Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 150 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 80 shares during the period. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC boosted its stake in Quest Diagnostics by 113.7% in the 4th quarter. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC now owns 156 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 83 shares during the period. DV Equities LLC acquired a new position in Quest Diagnostics in the 4th quarter valued at $27,000. Finally, Sittner & Nelson LLC acquired a new position in Quest Diagnostics in the 4th quarter valued at $29,000. Institutional investors own 88.06% of the company’s stock.

Quest Diagnostics Stock Up 1.7%

Shares of NYSE DGX opened at $196.92 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67, a quick ratio of 1.08 and a current ratio of 1.18. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a 52 week low of $164.65 and a 52 week high of $213.50. The stock has a market capitalization of $21.80 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.76, a PEG ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 0.59. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $195.00 and its 200 day moving average is $192.37.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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. The business had revenue of $2.90 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.83 billion. Quest Diagnostics had a net margin of 9.07% and a return on equity of 15.60%. Quest Diagnostics’s revenue was up 9.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.94 earnings per share. Quest Diagnostics has set its FY 2026 guidance at 10.630-10.830 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that Quest Diagnostics Incorporated will post 10.72 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Quest Diagnostics Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 22nd. Investors of record on Wednesday, July 8th will be given a dividend of $0.86 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, July 8th. This represents a $3.44 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.7%. Quest Diagnostics’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 38.01%.

Insider Activity at Quest Diagnostics

In other Quest Diagnostics news, SVP Karthik Kuppusamy sold 8,147 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $200.00, for a total transaction of $1,629,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 13,510 shares in the company, valued at $2,702,000. This represents a 37.62% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO J. E. Davis sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, June 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $194.14, for a total value of $1,941,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 132,423 shares in the company, valued at approximately $25,708,601.22. This represents a 7.02% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Company insiders own 0.88% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Wall Street Zen raised Quest Diagnostics from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday. Robert W. Baird upped their price target on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $224.00 to $229.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 22nd. UBS Group raised their price target on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $210.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Evercore set a $225.00 price objective on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a research note on Tuesday, April 21st. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised shares of Quest Diagnostics from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b+)” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 9th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $216.58.

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.