Schroder Investment Management Group Has $59.38 Million Holdings in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated $DGX

Schroder Investment Management Group cut its position in shares of Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) by 11.1% in the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 314,445 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 39,334 shares during the period. Schroder Investment Management Group’s holdings in Quest Diagnostics were worth $59,380,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in DGX. Perigon Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 4.5% in the 3rd quarter. Perigon Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,275 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $243,000 after buying an additional 55 shares in the last quarter. Independent Advisor Alliance raised its position in Quest Diagnostics by 1.4% during the third quarter. Independent Advisor Alliance now owns 4,232 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $807,000 after acquiring an additional 59 shares in the last quarter. True North Advisors LLC raised its position in Quest Diagnostics by 4.1% during the third quarter. True North Advisors LLC now owns 1,554 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $296,000 after acquiring an additional 61 shares in the last quarter. OLD Second National Bank of Aurora lifted its stake in Quest Diagnostics by 14.9% in the third quarter. OLD Second National Bank of Aurora now owns 517 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $99,000 after acquiring an additional 67 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Personal CFO Solutions LLC lifted its stake in Quest Diagnostics by 2.3% in the second quarter. Personal CFO Solutions LLC now owns 3,055 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $549,000 after acquiring an additional 70 shares during the last quarter. 88.06% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Michael E. Prevoznik sold 3,878 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $206.21, for a total value of $799,682.38. Following the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 37,557 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,744,628.97. This trade represents a 9.36% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Patrick Plewman sold 2,855 shares of Quest Diagnostics stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $206.21, for a total value of $588,729.55. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president owned 15,198 shares in the company, valued at $3,133,979.58. The trade was a 15.81% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold 24,083 shares of company stock valued at $4,945,262 over the last three months. 8.16% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Evercore set a $220.00 price target on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a research note on Wednesday, February 11th. UBS Group lifted their price objective on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $190.00 to $210.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 11th. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $210.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 11th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their target price on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $215.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 10th. Finally, Citigroup boosted 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. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $210.29.

Quest Diagnostics Trading Down 0.4%

Shares of DGX stock opened at $200.68 on Wednesday. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a 12 month low of $157.20 and a 12 month high of $213.50. The company has a market cap of $22.05 billion, a PE ratio of 22.94, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.61 and a beta of 0.66. The company has a quick ratio of 0.96, a current ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72. The business’s 50 day moving average is $192.69 and its two-hundred day moving average is $186.05.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 10th. The medical research company reported $2.42 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.35 by $0.07. The business had revenue of $2.81 billion during 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%. Quest Diagnostics’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $2.23 earnings per share. Quest Diagnostics has set its FY 2026 guidance at 9.45-9.650 EPS. Equities analysts predict 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 buyback program on Tuesday, February 10th that allows the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the medical research company to repurchase up to 4.7% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are generally an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Quest Diagnostics Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced 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 represents a $3.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.7%. This is a positive change from Quest Diagnostics’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.80. Quest Diagnostics’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 36.57%.

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.