249,182 Shares in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated $DGX Purchased by Eurizon Capital SGR S.p.A.

Key Points

• Eurizon Capital SGR S.p.A. bought 249,182 shares of Quest Diagnostics in the fourth quarter, a stake worth about $43.2 million and equal to 0.22% of the company.
• Quest Diagnostics reported better-than-expected quarterly results, posting $2.50 EPS on $2.90 billion in revenue, and raised its FY 2026 guidance to $10.63-$10.83 EPS.
• The company also continues to return capital to shareholders through a $0.86 quarterly dividend and a $1 billion share repurchase authorization, while analysts currently rate the stock Moderate Buy with a $216.58 consensus target.

Eurizon Capital SGR S.p.A. purchased a new position in shares of Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm purchased 249,182 shares of the medical research company's stock, valued at approximately $43,244,000. Eurizon Capital SGR S.p.A. owned 0.22% of Quest Diagnostics as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the business. Brighton Jones LLC acquired a new stake in Quest Diagnostics during the fourth quarter worth about $323,000. Cresset Asset Management LLC grew its stake in Quest Diagnostics by 4.6% during the second quarter. Cresset Asset Management LLC now owns 4,003 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $719,000 after buying an additional 176 shares in the last quarter. Gabelli Funds LLC acquired a new stake in Quest Diagnostics during the second quarter worth about $287,000. Bank of Nova Scotia grew its stake in Quest Diagnostics by 7.2% during the second quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia now owns 14,339 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $2,576,000 after buying an additional 962 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Daiwa Securities Group Inc. grew its stake in Quest Diagnostics by 17.1% during the second quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 18,599 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $3,341,000 after buying an additional 2,718 shares in the last quarter. 88.06% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have issued reports on DGX. Evercore set a $225.00 price objective on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a research note on Tuesday, April 21st. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Quest Diagnostics from a "buy (b+)" rating to a "buy (b)" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 19th. Citigroup increased their price objective on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $190.00 to $215.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 10th. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $225.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 22nd. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Quest Diagnostics from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $216.58.

Quest Diagnostics Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:DGX opened at $194.78 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $21.56 billion, a PE ratio of 21.52, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.32 and a beta of 0.60. The firm's fifty day moving average is $194.46 and its 200-day moving average is $191.04. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67, a quick ratio of 1.08 and a current ratio of 1.18. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a 52 week low of $164.65 and a 52 week high of $213.50.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 21st. The medical research company reported $2.50 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.83 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.94 earnings per share. Quest Diagnostics's revenue was up 9.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Quest Diagnostics has set its FY 2026 guidance at 10.630-10.830 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Quest Diagnostics Incorporated will post 10.72 earnings per share for the current year.

Quest Diagnostics Dividend Announcement

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. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, July 8th. This represents a $3.44 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.8%. Quest Diagnostics's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 38.01%.

Quest Diagnostics announced that its board has authorized a stock repurchase plan on Tuesday, February 10th that authorizes the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the medical research company to buy up to 4.7% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are generally a sign that the company's leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Activity

In other Quest Diagnostics news, SVP Michael E. Prevoznik sold 3,878 shares of the firm'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 transaction of $799,682.38. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president owned 37,557 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,744,628.97. This trade represents a 9.36% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Catherine T. Doherty sold 5,558 shares of the firm'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 $1,146,115.18. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 67,122 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $13,841,227.62. The trade was a 7.65% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold a total of 14,919 shares of company stock worth $3,072,899 in the last 90 days. 0.88% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.

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