BlackRock Inc. Makes New Investment in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated $DGX

Key Points

• BlackRock acquired 9.28 million Quest Diagnostics shares worth approximately $1.97 billion, giving it an 8.4% stake. Institutional investors collectively own 88.06% of the company.
• Quest Diagnostics reported quarterly EPS of $3.12, beating estimates of $2.82, while revenue rose 10.2% year over year to $3.04 billion. The company set fiscal 2026 EPS guidance at $11.05–$11.25.
• Analysts maintain a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating with an average price target of $235.31, while Quest declared a quarterly dividend of $0.86 per share, representing a 1.4% annualized yield.

BlackRock Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX - Free Report) during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor purchased 9,275,411 shares of the medical research company's stock, valued at approximately $1,965,923,000. BlackRock Inc. owned about 8.40% of Quest Diagnostics at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Davis Selected Advisers increased its holdings in Quest Diagnostics by 16.8% in the fourth quarter. Davis Selected Advisers now owns 1,589,883 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $275,895,000 after purchasing an additional 228,271 shares during the last quarter. ANTIPODES PARTNERS Ltd boosted its holdings in Quest Diagnostics by 178.7% during the fourth quarter. ANTIPODES PARTNERS Ltd now owns 171,987 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $29,847,000 after buying an additional 110,280 shares during the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its position in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 39.1% during the 2nd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 15,405 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $3,265,000 after buying an additional 4,334 shares during the period. Advisors Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 5.4% during the 4th quarter. Advisors Capital Management LLC now owns 313,838 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $54,460,000 after buying an additional 16,194 shares during the period. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics in the 4th quarter valued at about $92,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 88.06% of the company's stock.

Insider Transactions at Quest Diagnostics

In other Quest Diagnostics news, SVP Mark E. Delaney sold 1,600 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $235.18, for a total transaction of $376,288.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 10,335 shares in the company, valued at $2,430,585.30. This represents a 13.41% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, SVP Karthik Kuppusamy sold 8,147 shares of Quest Diagnostics stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of 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 ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last three months, insiders have sold 19,747 shares of company stock valued at $3,947,088. 0.88% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Robert W. Baird lifted their price objective 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. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Quest Diagnostics from a "buy (b+)" rating to a "buy (a-)" rating in a report on Wednesday, August 12th. Mizuho lifted their price target on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $235.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, July 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted 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. Finally, Truist Financial boosted their price target on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $225.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, July 24th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have assigned a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $235.31.

Quest Diagnostics Stock Up 2.3%

NYSE:DGX opened at $241.78 on Thursday. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a twelve month low of $171.18 and a twelve month high of $242.39. The firm has a market capitalization of $26.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.67, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.18 and a beta of 0.56. The company has a quick ratio of 1.46, a current ratio of 1.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $217.76 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $204.48.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, July 23rd. The medical research company reported $3.12 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.82 by $0.30. Quest Diagnostics had a net margin of 9.18% and a return on equity of 16.01%. The business had revenue of $3.04 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.97 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $2.62 EPS. Quest Diagnostics's revenue was up 10.2% on a year-over-year basis. Quest Diagnostics has set its FY 2026 guidance at 11.050-11.250 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that Quest Diagnostics Incorporated will post 11.15 earnings per share 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 dividend of $0.86 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend 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 is currently 36.52%.

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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