Allstate Corp Raises Holdings in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated $DGX

Allstate Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) by 77.2% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 8,688 shares of the medical research company’s stock after buying an additional 3,786 shares during the quarter. Allstate Corp’s holdings in Quest Diagnostics were worth $1,508,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 1.0% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 14,392,082 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $2,497,458,000 after buying an additional 140,450 shares during the period. State Street Corp lifted its stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 0.8% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 5,223,930 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $995,577,000 after buying an additional 38,931 shares during the period. Boston Partners lifted 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 buying an additional 997,033 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its position in Quest Diagnostics by 0.3% during the third quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,907,510 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $363,509,000 after purchasing an additional 6,155 shares during the period. Finally, Invesco Ltd. lifted its position in Quest Diagnostics by 1.8% during the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,688,769 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $321,846,000 after purchasing an additional 30,418 shares during the period. 88.06% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Quest Diagnostics Stock Performance

Shares of DGX stock opened at $194.78 on Friday. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a one year low of $164.65 and a one year high of $213.50. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $194.46 and its 200-day moving average price is $191.04. The firm has a market cap of $21.56 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.52, a P/E/G ratio of 2.34 and a beta of 0.60. 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 (NYSE:DGX) last announced 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 firm had revenue of $2.90 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.83 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.94 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.2% on a year-over-year basis. Quest Diagnostics has set its FY 2026 guidance at 10.630-10.830 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Quest Diagnostics Incorporated will post 10.72 EPS for the current 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 repurchase up to 4.7% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are generally a sign that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Quest Diagnostics Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 22nd. Investors of record on Wednesday, July 8th will be given a $0.86 dividend. This represents a $3.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, July 8th. Quest Diagnostics’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 38.01%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Quest Diagnostics

In other news, SVP Michael E. Prevoznik sold 3,878 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $206.21, for a total value of $799,682.38. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 37,557 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,744,628.97. This trade represents a 9.36% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Catherine T. Doherty sold 5,558 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $206.21, for a total transaction of $1,146,115.18. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 67,122 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $13,841,227.62. This trade represents a 7.65% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold 14,919 shares of company stock worth $3,072,899 in the last quarter. 0.88% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Truist Financial lifted their price objective on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $220.00 to $225.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Weiss Ratings cut shares of Quest Diagnostics from a “buy (b+)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 19th. 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 report on Tuesday, February 10th. Robert W. Baird lifted their price objective on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $224.00 to $229.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Finally, Evercore set a $225.00 target price on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a research note on Tuesday, April 21st. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Quest Diagnostics currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price 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.