Intech Investment Management LLC Sells 4,186 Shares of Quest Diagnostics Incorporated $DGX

Intech Investment Management LLC decreased its holdings in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) by 8.8% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 43,590 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 4,186 shares during the period. Intech Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Quest Diagnostics were worth $8,307,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in DGX. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Quest Diagnostics in the second quarter worth about $238,122,000. M&G PLC lifted its holdings in Quest Diagnostics by 256.5% during the 2nd quarter. M&G PLC now owns 1,072,721 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $193,090,000 after buying an additional 771,824 shares in the last quarter. Boston Partners boosted its position in Quest Diagnostics by 32.4% in the 2nd quarter. Boston Partners now owns 3,039,848 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $545,318,000 after buying an additional 744,102 shares during the period. Pacer Advisors Inc. boosted its position in Quest Diagnostics by 2,531.6% in the 3rd quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 450,898 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $85,932,000 after buying an additional 433,764 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE grew its stake in Quest Diagnostics by 36.3% in the 2nd 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 in the last quarter. 88.06% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Quest Diagnostics

In related news, EVP Catherine T. Doherty sold 1,433 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $204.83, for a total transaction of $293,521.39. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 68,402 shares in the company, valued at $14,010,781.66. The trade was a 2.05% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, SVP Patrick Plewman sold 958 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $204.83, for a total transaction of $196,227.14. Following the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 15,838 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,244,097.54. The trade was a 5.70% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 9,164 shares of company stock valued at $1,872,363. 8.16% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Quest Diagnostics Stock Up 0.3%

Shares of NYSE DGX opened at $211.75 on Friday. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a 12-month low of $157.20 and a 12-month high of $213.50. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $188.64 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $184.80. The stock has a market capitalization of $23.56 billion, a PE ratio of 24.20, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.73 and a beta of 0.66. The company has a current ratio of 1.04, a quick ratio of 0.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 10th. The medical research company reported $2.42 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.35 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $2.81 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.75 billion. Quest Diagnostics had a return on equity of 15.57% and a net margin of 8.99%.The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.23 EPS. Quest Diagnostics has set its FY 2026 guidance at 9.45-9.650 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that Quest Diagnostics Incorporated will post 9.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Quest Diagnostics announced that its Board of Directors has approved a stock repurchase 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 buy up to 4.7% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are generally an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Quest Diagnostics Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 20th. Shareholders of record on Monday, April 6th will be given a dividend of $0.86 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, April 6th. This is a positive change from Quest Diagnostics’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.80. This represents a $3.44 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.6%. Quest Diagnostics’s payout ratio is currently 36.57%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently weighed in on DGX. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $210.00 to $225.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 11th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their target price on Quest Diagnostics from $215.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 10th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Citigroup increased their price target on Quest Diagnostics from $190.00 to $215.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 10th. Finally, Truist Financial raised their price target on Quest Diagnostics from $205.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 11th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $210.29.

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.