Quest Diagnostics Incorporated $DGX Shares Acquired by IFP Advisors Inc

IFP Advisors Inc raised its stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) by 32.5% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 16,264 shares of the medical research company’s stock after acquiring an additional 3,986 shares during the period. IFP Advisors Inc’s holdings in Quest Diagnostics were worth $2,822,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Paradiem LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics during the fourth quarter valued at about $13,652,000. Lebenthal Global Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 117.5% in the third quarter. Lebenthal Global Advisors LLC now owns 5,034 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $959,000 after purchasing an additional 2,720 shares in the last quarter. Rakuten Investment Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Quest Diagnostics in the third quarter valued at approximately $4,713,000. Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA acquired a new position in shares of Quest Diagnostics in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,517,000. Finally, Cibc World Market Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 209.6% in the third quarter. Cibc World Market Inc. now owns 7,765 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $1,480,000 after purchasing an additional 5,257 shares in the last quarter. 88.06% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Mizuho lifted their price objective on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $210.00 to $235.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, February 12th. 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. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Quest Diagnostics from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, April 25th. Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $225.00 to $230.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Finally, 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. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Quest Diagnostics currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $216.58.

Quest Diagnostics Trading Down 0.0%

NYSE DGX opened at $193.67 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.08, a current ratio of 1.18 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67. 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 $21.44 billion, a PE ratio of 21.40, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 0.60. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $194.96 and a two-hundred day moving average of $190.43.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) last posted its quarterly earnings results 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 net margin of 9.07% and a return on equity of 15.60%. The company had revenue of $2.90 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.83 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.94 EPS. The firm’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. As a group, research analysts expect that Quest Diagnostics Incorporated will post 10.72 EPS 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. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, July 8th will be issued a dividend of $0.86 per share. This represents a $3.44 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.8%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, July 8th. Quest Diagnostics’s payout ratio is 38.01%.

Quest Diagnostics declared that its board has approved a stock repurchase program on Tuesday, February 10th that permits the company to buyback $1.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the medical research company to reacquire up to 4.7% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are often a sign that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Activity

In other Quest Diagnostics news, SVP Karthik Kuppusamy sold 2,628 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $204.86, for a total transaction of $538,372.08. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president owned 13,441 shares in the company, valued at $2,753,523.26. The trade was a 16.35% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, SVP Michael E. Prevoznik sold 3,878 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $206.21, for a total transaction of $799,682.38. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 37,557 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,744,628.97. This trade represents a 9.36% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 14,919 shares of company stock worth $3,072,899. 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.