Hsbc Holdings PLC Makes New $47.78 Million Investment in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated $DGX

Key Points

• Hsbc Holdings PLC acquired 224,986 Quest Diagnostics shares worth approximately $47.8 million, while institutional investors collectively own 88.06% of the company.
• Quest Diagnostics reported stronger-than-expected quarterly results, with EPS of $3.12 versus the $2.82 consensus and revenue of $3.04 billion, up 10.2% year over year.
• Analysts maintain a “Moderate Buy” consensus with an average price target of $235.31; the company also declared a quarterly dividend of $0.86 per share, yielding about 1.4%.

Hsbc Holdings PLC purchased a new stake in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX - Free Report) in the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund purchased 224,986 shares of the medical research company's stock, valued at approximately $47,785,000. Hsbc Holdings PLC owned approximately 0.20% of Quest Diagnostics at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. BlackRock Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics during the 2nd quarter valued at $1,965,923,000. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $229,522,000. Boston Partners boosted its position in Quest Diagnostics by 32.8% in the third quarter. Boston Partners now owns 4,036,881 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $767,978,000 after buying an additional 997,033 shares in the last quarter. EdgePoint Investment Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 95.5% during the 4th quarter. EdgePoint Investment Group Inc. now owns 1,661,072 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $288,246,000 after acquiring an additional 811,320 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc bought a new stake in Quest Diagnostics during the 2nd quarter worth $151,986,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 88.06% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have issued reports on DGX. Wall Street Zen raised Quest Diagnostics from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 28th. Weiss Ratings upgraded Quest Diagnostics from a "buy (b+)" rating to a "buy (a-)" rating in a report on Wednesday, August 12th. Truist Financial upped their price objective on Quest Diagnostics from $225.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, July 24th. UBS Group raised their price objective on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $220.00 to $232.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, July 24th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $245.00 target price on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a research report on Thursday, July 23rd. One 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Quest Diagnostics has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $235.31.

Quest Diagnostics Stock Up 0.1%

Shares of DGX opened at $244.78 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $27.02 billion, a PE ratio of 25.99, a PEG ratio of 2.25 and a beta of 0.56. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a 12 month low of $171.18 and a 12 month high of $246.00. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $222.01 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $206.46. The company has a current ratio of 1.59, a quick ratio of 1.46 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 23rd. The medical research company reported $3.12 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.82 by $0.30. Quest Diagnostics had a return on equity of 16.01% and a net margin of 9.18%.The firm had revenue of $3.04 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.97 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.62 EPS. The business'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. On average, analysts anticipate that Quest Diagnostics Incorporated will post 11.15 EPS for the current year.

Quest Diagnostics Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 21st. Investors of record on Tuesday, October 6th will be issued a $0.86 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, October 6th. This represents a $3.44 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.4%. Quest Diagnostics's dividend payout ratio is presently 36.52%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Quest Diagnostics

In other Quest Diagnostics news, CEO J. E. Davis sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 132,423 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $25,708,601.22. This represents a 7.02% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed 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 firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 owned 13,510 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,702,000. The trade was 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. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 19,747 shares of company stock valued at $3,947,088. 0.88% of the stock is currently owned by company 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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.

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