46,829 Shares in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated $DGX Acquired by Korea Investment CORP

Key Points

• Korea Investment CORP acquired 46,829 Quest Diagnostics shares worth approximately $9.9 million in the second quarter. Institutional investors collectively own 88.06% of DGX, with BlackRock, Norges Bank and other firms also increasing or initiating positions.
• Analysts maintain a generally positive outlook, with Quest Diagnostics receiving a “Moderate Buy” consensus rating and an average price target of $235.31. Recent target increases included Barclays, Jefferies, JPMorgan and Robert W. Baird, though several analysts retain “Hold” ratings.
• Quest Diagnostics exceeded quarterly expectations, reporting $3.12 in EPS and $3.04 billion in revenue, up 10.2% year over year. The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.86, equivalent to a 1.4% yield, while shares opened at $243.96 near their 12-month high.

Korea Investment CORP acquired a new position in shares of Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX - Free Report) in the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 46,829 shares of the medical research company's stock, valued at approximately $9,925,000.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of DGX. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics during the second quarter worth $1,965,923,000. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Quest Diagnostics in the fourth quarter worth about $229,522,000. Boston Partners grew its stake in Quest Diagnostics by 32.8% during the 3rd quarter. Boston Partners now owns 4,036,881 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $767,978,000 after acquiring an additional 997,033 shares in the last quarter. EdgePoint Investment Group Inc. grew its stake in Quest Diagnostics by 95.5% during the 4th quarter. EdgePoint Investment Group Inc. now owns 1,661,072 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $288,246,000 after acquiring an additional 811,320 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp acquired a new stake in Quest Diagnostics in the 2nd quarter valued at about $133,388,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 88.06% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have issued reports on the company. Barclays upped their target price on Quest Diagnostics from $230.00 to $250.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, July 23rd. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a "buy" rating and set a $245.00 price target on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a research report on Thursday, July 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $220.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 28th. Robert W. Baird lifted their target price on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $236.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, July 24th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised shares of Quest Diagnostics from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 28th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have issued a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Quest Diagnostics has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $235.31.

Quest Diagnostics Stock Down 0.2%

Shares of NYSE DGX opened at $243.96 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $26.93 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.90, a PEG ratio of 2.25 and a beta of 0.56. The company has a current ratio of 1.59, a quick ratio of 1.46 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a 12-month low of $171.18 and a 12-month high of $246.00. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $220.20 and its 200-day simple moving average is $205.70.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 23rd. The medical research company reported $3.12 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.82 by $0.30. Quest Diagnostics had a net margin of 9.18% and a return on equity of 16.01%. The company had revenue of $3.04 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.97 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.62 EPS. The company's quarterly revenue was up 10.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Quest Diagnostics has set its FY 2026 guidance at 11.050-11.250 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that Quest Diagnostics Incorporated will post 11.15 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Quest Diagnostics Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 21st. Investors of record on Tuesday, October 6th will be given a $0.86 dividend. This represents a $3.44 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.4%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, October 6th. Quest Diagnostics's payout ratio is 36.52%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Quest Diagnostics

In other news, CEO J. E. Davis sold 10,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $194.14, for a total value of $1,941,400.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 132,423 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $25,708,601.22. The trade was a 7.02% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, SVP Karthik Kuppusamy sold 8,147 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $200.00, for a total transaction of $1,629,400.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 13,510 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,702,000. The trade was a 37.62% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold a total of 19,747 shares of company stock valued at $3,947,088 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.88% of the company's stock.

Quest Diagnostics Company 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.

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