Assenagon Asset Management S.A. Acquires 4,334 Shares of Quest Diagnostics Incorporated $DGX

Key Points

• Assenagon Asset Management increased its Quest Diagnostics stake by 39.1% in the second quarter, acquiring 4,334 shares and bringing its holdings to 15,405 shares valued at approximately $3.27 million. Institutional investors own 88.06% of the company.
• Quest Diagnostics reported quarterly EPS of $3.12, exceeding estimates of $2.82, while revenue rose 10.2% year over year to $3.04 billion. The company issued fiscal 2026 EPS guidance of $11.05–$11.25.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.86 per share, equivalent to an annualized $3.44 payout and a 1.5% yield. Analysts maintain a “Moderate Buy” consensus rating with an average price target of $235.31.

Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its holdings in shares of Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX - Free Report) by 39.1% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 15,405 shares of the medical research company's stock after acquiring an additional 4,334 shares during the quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A.'s holdings in Quest Diagnostics were worth $3,265,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 3.7% during the 4th quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC now owns 1,387 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $241,000 after acquiring an additional 50 shares in the last quarter. HB Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in Quest Diagnostics by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. HB Wealth Management LLC now owns 11,292 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $1,960,000 after buying an additional 58 shares during the last quarter. Ossiam boosted its position in Quest Diagnostics by 6.1% during the 3rd quarter. Ossiam now owns 1,059 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $202,000 after buying an additional 61 shares during the period. Independent Advisor Alliance grew its holdings in Quest Diagnostics by 1.6% during the 4th quarter. Independent Advisor Alliance now owns 4,298 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $746,000 after acquiring an additional 66 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Checchi Capital Advisers LLC increased its position in Quest Diagnostics by 5.6% in the 4th quarter. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC now owns 1,326 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $230,000 after acquiring an additional 70 shares during the period. 88.06% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Quest Diagnostics Trading Down 0.6%

NYSE DGX opened at $236.41 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $26.09 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.10, a P/E/G ratio of 2.19 and a beta of 0.56. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $214.92 and a 200 day simple moving average of $202.96. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72, a current ratio of 1.59 and a quick ratio of 1.46. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a one year low of $171.18 and a one year high of $240.13.

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

Quest Diagnostics Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 21st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, October 6th will be issued a $0.86 dividend. This represents a $3.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.5%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, October 6th. Quest Diagnostics's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 36.52%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Quest Diagnostics

In other Quest Diagnostics news, SVP Mark E. Delaney sold 1,600 shares of Quest Diagnostics stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $235.18, for a total value of $376,288.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 10,335 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,430,585.30. The trade was a 13.41% 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 stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owned 13,510 shares in the company, valued at $2,702,000. This trade represents a 37.62% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 19,747 shares of company stock valued at $3,947,088. Corporate insiders own 0.88% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently weighed in on DGX. Mizuho boosted their price objective on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $235.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, July 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on Quest Diagnostics from $220.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 28th. Truist Financial upped their target price on Quest Diagnostics from $225.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, July 24th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Quest Diagnostics from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 28th. Finally, Argus set a $260.00 price objective on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a research note on Wednesday, July 29th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have issued a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $235.31.

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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