Geode Capital Management LLC Decreases Stock Holdings in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated $DGX

Key Points

• Geode Capital Management trimmed its Quest Diagnostics stake slightly in Q4, selling 8,278 shares and ending with about 3.03 million shares valued at roughly $523.5 million.
• Quest Diagnostics recently beat quarterly earnings and revenue expectations, reporting $2.50 EPS on $2.90 billion in revenue, while raising FY 2026 EPS guidance to 10.63–10.83.
• The company also announced a quarterly dividend of $0.86 per share and a $1 billion share repurchase authorization, signaling continued capital returns to shareholders.

Geode Capital Management LLC reduced its position in shares of Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX - Free Report) by 0.3% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 3,028,207 shares of the medical research company's stock after selling 8,278 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC owned about 2.72% of Quest Diagnostics worth $523,515,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of DGX. Brighton Jones LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics during the 4th quarter worth $323,000. Cresset Asset Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 4.6% during the 2nd quarter. Cresset Asset Management LLC now owns 4,003 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $719,000 after purchasing an additional 176 shares during the last quarter. Gabelli Funds LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics during the 2nd quarter worth $287,000. Bank of Nova Scotia lifted its position in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 7.2% during the 2nd quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia now owns 14,339 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $2,576,000 after purchasing an additional 962 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Daiwa Securities Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 17.1% during the 2nd quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 18,599 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $3,341,000 after purchasing an additional 2,718 shares during the last quarter. 88.06% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Quest Diagnostics Price Performance

Shares of DGX opened at $194.78 on Monday. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a 1-year low of $164.65 and a 1-year high of $213.50. The stock has a market cap of $21.56 billion, a PE ratio of 21.52, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.32 and a beta of 0.59. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67, a current ratio of 1.18 and a quick ratio of 1.08. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $194.46 and a 200 day moving average price of $191.09.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 21st. The medical research company reported $2.50 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.37 by $0.13. Quest Diagnostics had a net margin of 9.07% and a return on equity of 15.60%. The firm had revenue of $2.90 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.83 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.94 earnings per share. Quest Diagnostics's quarterly revenue was up 9.2% compared to the same quarter last year. 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 10.72 EPS for the current year.

Quest Diagnostics Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 22nd. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, July 8th will be paid a $0.86 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, July 8th. This represents a $3.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.8%. Quest Diagnostics's payout ratio is currently 38.01%.

Quest Diagnostics declared that its board has approved a share repurchase plan on Tuesday, February 10th that allows the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the medical research company to repurchase up to 4.7% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are usually an indication that the company's board believes its stock is undervalued.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Weiss Ratings cut shares of Quest Diagnostics from a "buy (b+)" rating to a "buy (b)" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 19th. Robert W. Baird boosted their price target on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $224.00 to $229.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Barclays boosted their price target on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $225.00 to $230.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $225.00 price target on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a research report on Tuesday, April 21st. Finally, Mizuho boosted their price target on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $210.00 to $235.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 12th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $216.58.

Insider Buying and Selling at Quest Diagnostics

In other Quest Diagnostics 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 value of $1,146,115.18. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 67,122 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,841,227.62. The trade was a 7.65% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Michael E. Prevoznik sold 3,878 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 $799,682.38. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president owned 37,557 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,744,628.97. This represents a 9.36% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last three months, insiders have sold 14,919 shares of company stock valued at $3,072,899. Company 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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