Banque Cantonale Vaudoise Sells 5,219 Shares of Quest Diagnostics Incorporated $DGX

Banque Cantonale Vaudoise trimmed its holdings in shares of Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) by 74.8% during the first quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 1,762 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 5,219 shares during the quarter. Banque Cantonale Vaudoise’s holdings in Quest Diagnostics were worth $346,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in DGX. Paradiem LLC bought a new stake in Quest Diagnostics during the fourth quarter worth $13,652,000. Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA acquired a new position in Quest Diagnostics during the 4th quarter worth about $1,517,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its position in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 346.5% during the fourth quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 24,949 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $4,329,000 after acquiring an additional 19,361 shares during the last quarter. Elo Mutual Pension Insurance Co acquired a new position in shares of Quest Diagnostics in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $2,026,000. Finally, 8 Knots Management LLC raised its position in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 56.0% in the 3rd quarter. 8 Knots Management LLC now owns 275,344 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $52,475,000 after acquiring an additional 98,806 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 88.06% of the company’s stock.

Quest Diagnostics Stock Performance

NYSE DGX opened at $209.73 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $23.22 billion, a PE ratio of 23.17, a P/E/G ratio of 2.50 and a beta of 0.59. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67, a current ratio of 1.18 and a quick ratio of 1.08. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $195.83 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $192.87. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a 1 year low of $164.65 and a 1 year high of $213.50.

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

Quest Diagnostics Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.6%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, July 8th. Quest Diagnostics’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 38.01%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Robert W. Baird increased their target price 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. Truist Financial lifted their price objective on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $220.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Barclays lifted their price target on Quest Diagnostics from $225.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 22nd. UBS Group lifted their price objective 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. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered Quest Diagnostics from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Sunday. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $216.58.

Insider Transactions at Quest Diagnostics

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

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.