EdgePoint Investment Group Inc. Grows Position in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated $DGX

EdgePoint Investment Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) by 66,757.0% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 849,752 shares of the medical research company’s stock after purchasing an additional 848,481 shares during the quarter. Quest Diagnostics accounts for approximately 1.2% of EdgePoint Investment Group Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 21st largest position. EdgePoint Investment Group Inc. owned about 0.76% of Quest Diagnostics worth $161,946,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. MTM Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in Quest Diagnostics in the second quarter valued at approximately $29,000. True Wealth Design LLC grew its stake in Quest Diagnostics by 369.7% in the 3rd quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 155 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 122 shares in the last quarter. First Horizon Corp bought a new position in shares of Quest Diagnostics in the 3rd quarter worth $33,000. Rexford Capital Inc. bought a new position in shares of Quest Diagnostics in the 2nd quarter worth $36,000. Finally, Wellington Shields Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics during the 3rd quarter valued at $38,000. 88.06% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Quest Diagnostics news, SVP Michael E. Prevoznik sold 3,878 shares of Quest Diagnostics stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $206.21, for a total value of $799,682.38. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 37,557 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,744,628.97. The trade was a 9.36% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, SVP Patrick Plewman sold 2,855 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $206.21, for a total value of $588,729.55. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 15,198 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,133,979.58. The trade was a 15.81% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 24,083 shares of company stock worth $4,945,262. Insiders own 8.16% of the company’s stock.

Quest Diagnostics Price Performance

Shares of Quest Diagnostics stock opened at $199.61 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72, a quick ratio of 0.96 and a current ratio of 1.04. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a 52-week low of $157.20 and a 52-week high of $213.50. The company has a fifty day moving average of $194.29 and a 200-day moving average of $186.44. The stock has a market capitalization of $21.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.81, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.58 and a beta of 0.66.

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

Quest Diagnostics declared that its Board of Directors has approved a stock repurchase program on Tuesday, February 10th that permits the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the medical research company to repurchase up to 4.7% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are usually an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Quest Diagnostics Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 20th. Stockholders of record on Monday, April 6th will be issued a $0.86 dividend. This is an increase from Quest Diagnostics’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.80. This represents a $3.44 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.7%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, April 6th. Quest Diagnostics’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 39.31%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently issued reports on DGX shares. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Quest Diagnostics from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Sunday. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price target on Quest Diagnostics from $215.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 10th. UBS Group lifted their price target on Quest Diagnostics from $190.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 11th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a report on Monday, December 29th. Finally, Barclays increased their price objective on Quest Diagnostics from $210.00 to $225.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 11th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $210.29.

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.