7,488 Shares in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated $DGX Acquired by Cibc World Market Inc.

Key Points

• Cibc World Market Inc. acquired 7,488 Quest Diagnostics shares in the second quarter, valued at approximately $1.59 million. Institutional investors collectively own 88.06% of DGX.
• Analysts maintain a generally positive view, with Quest Diagnostics receiving a “Moderate Buy” consensus rating and an average price target of $235.31. The stock recently opened at $244.48, near its 52-week high of $247.19.
• Quest Diagnostics exceeded quarterly earnings expectations, reporting $3.12 in EPS and $3.04 billion in revenue, while revenue grew 10.2% year over year. The company also declared a quarterly dividend of $0.86 per share, representing a 1.4% annualized yield.

Cibc World Market Inc. bought a new position in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX - Free Report) in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund bought 7,488 shares of the medical research company's stock, valued at approximately $1,587,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in DGX. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 3.7% in the 4th quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC now owns 1,387 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $241,000 after buying an additional 50 shares during the last quarter. Ossiam increased its position in Quest Diagnostics by 6.1% during the third quarter. Ossiam now owns 1,059 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $202,000 after acquiring an additional 61 shares during the last quarter. Independent Advisor Alliance lifted its holdings in Quest Diagnostics by 1.6% in the fourth quarter. Independent Advisor Alliance now owns 4,298 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $746,000 after acquiring an additional 66 shares during the period. Brown Advisory Inc. lifted its holdings in Quest Diagnostics by 1.0% in the fourth quarter. Brown Advisory Inc. now owns 7,287 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $1,265,000 after acquiring an additional 71 shares during the period. Finally, Hantz Financial Services Inc. boosted its position in Quest Diagnostics by 9.6% in the fourth quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 835 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $145,000 after purchasing an additional 73 shares during the last quarter. 88.06% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Quest Diagnostics from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 28th. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $245.00 price objective on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a report on Thursday, July 23rd. UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $220.00 to $232.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, July 24th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Quest Diagnostics from a "buy (b+)" rating to a "buy (a-)" rating in a report on Wednesday, August 12th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target 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. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have assigned a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $235.31.

Quest Diagnostics Stock Performance

NYSE:DGX opened at $244.48 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72, a quick ratio of 1.46 and a current ratio of 1.59. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $223.00 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $206.84. The firm has a market capitalization of $26.98 billion, a PE ratio of 25.95, a P/E/G ratio of 2.26 and a beta of 0.56. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a 52-week low of $171.18 and a 52-week high of $247.19.

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

Quest Diagnostics Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 21st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, October 6th will be paid a dividend of $0.86 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, October 6th. This represents a $3.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.4%. Quest Diagnostics's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 36.52%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Quest Diagnostics

In other news, CEO J. E. Davis sold 10,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, June 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $194.14, for a total transaction of $1,941,400.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 132,423 shares in the company, valued at $25,708,601.22. This trade represents a 7.02% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at 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 firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $200.00, for a total transaction of $1,629,400.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president owned 13,510 shares in the company, valued at $2,702,000. The trade was a 37.62% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold 19,747 shares of company stock valued at $3,947,088 over the last 90 days. 0.88% of the stock is currently owned by corporate 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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