Advisors Capital Management LLC Buys 16,194 Shares of Quest Diagnostics Incorporated $DGX

Key Points

• Advisors Capital Management increased its stake in Quest Diagnostics by 5.4% in Q4, buying 16,194 shares to own 313,838 shares valued at about $54.46 million (0.28% of the company).
• Quest Diagnostics beat earnings in the most recent quarter with $2.50 EPS (vs. $2.37 expected) and $2.90B revenue (+9.2% YoY), and set FY2026 guidance of $10.63–$10.83 EPS (sell‑side consensus ~10.71).
• The company is returning capital to shareholders, having raised its quarterly dividend to $0.86 ($3.44 annual, 1.8% yield) and announced a $1.00 billion share repurchase program (up to ~4.7% of shares).

Advisors Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX - Free Report) by 5.4% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 313,838 shares of the medical research company's stock after acquiring an additional 16,194 shares during the quarter. Advisors Capital Management LLC owned 0.28% of Quest Diagnostics worth $54,460,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. JFS Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 114.3% during the fourth quarter. JFS Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 150 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 80 shares in the last quarter. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC boosted its stake in Quest Diagnostics by 113.7% in the 4th quarter. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC now owns 156 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 83 shares in the last quarter. True Wealth Design LLC grew its position in Quest Diagnostics by 369.7% during the 3rd quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 155 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 122 shares during the last quarter. First Horizon Corp purchased a new stake in Quest Diagnostics during the 3rd quarter valued at about $33,000. Finally, Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd bought a new stake in Quest Diagnostics during the 3rd quarter valued at about $33,000. 88.06% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Quest Diagnostics Stock Performance

Shares of DGX opened at $195.99 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $21.70 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.66, a PEG ratio of 2.38 and a beta of 0.66. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67, a current ratio of 1.18 and a quick ratio of 0.96. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a one year low of $164.65 and a one year high of $213.50. The business has a fifty day moving average of $200.04 and a 200 day moving average of $189.37.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, April 21st. The medical research company reported $2.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.37 by $0.13. The business had revenue of $2.90 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.83 billion. Quest Diagnostics had a return on equity of 15.60% and a net margin of 9.07%.The business's revenue for the quarter was up 9.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.94 earnings per share. Quest Diagnostics has set its FY 2026 guidance at 10.630-10.830 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Quest Diagnostics Incorporated will post 10.71 EPS for the current year.

Quest Diagnostics Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 20th. Investors of record on Monday, April 6th were given a dividend of $0.86 per share. This represents a $3.44 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.8%. This is a positive change from Quest Diagnostics's previous quarterly dividend of $0.80. The ex-dividend date was Monday, April 6th. Quest Diagnostics's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 38.01%.

Quest Diagnostics announced that its Board of Directors has approved a share repurchase program 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 programs are usually an indication that the company's leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $225.00 target price on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a report on Tuesday. Citigroup raised their price target on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $190.00 to $215.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 10th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Quest Diagnostics from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Saturday. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "buy (b-)" rating on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Finally, Barclays increased their target price on Quest Diagnostics from $225.00 to $230.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $214.54.

Insider Buying and Selling at Quest Diagnostics

In other news, EVP Catherine T. Doherty sold 5,558 shares of Quest Diagnostics stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 5th. The shares were 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 in the company, valued at $13,841,227.62. This trade represents a 7.65% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Patrick Plewman sold 5,662 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $204.00, for a total transaction of $1,155,048.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 15,381 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,137,724. The trade was a 26.91% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold a total of 24,083 shares of company stock valued at $4,945,262 over the last three months. Insiders own 8.16% of the company's stock.

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.

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