Intech Investment Management LLC Decreases Stake in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated $DGX

Key Points

• Intech Investment Management cut its Quest Diagnostics stake by 39.5% in Q4, selling 17,233 shares and ending with 26,357 shares valued at about $4.57 million.
• Quest Diagnostics reported better-than-expected quarterly results, with EPS of $2.50 versus $2.37 expected and revenue of $2.90 billion, up 9.2% year over year.
• The company authorized a $1 billion share buyback and declared a quarterly dividend of $0.86 per share, equal to an annualized yield of about 1.8%.

Intech Investment Management LLC lowered its holdings in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX - Free Report) by 39.5% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 26,357 shares of the medical research company's stock after selling 17,233 shares during the quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC's holdings in Quest Diagnostics were worth $4,574,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. JFS Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 114.3% in the fourth quarter. JFS Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 150 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 80 shares during the last quarter. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC raised its stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 113.7% in the fourth 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 during the last quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Quest Diagnostics in the third quarter worth $33,000. McIlrath & Eck LLC purchased a new position in shares of Quest Diagnostics in the fourth quarter worth $32,000. Finally, Wellington Shields Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Quest Diagnostics in the third quarter worth $38,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 88.06% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Quest Diagnostics news, SVP Patrick Plewman sold 2,855 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $206.21, for a total transaction of $588,729.55. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 15,198 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,133,979.58. The trade was a 15.81% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Catherine T. Doherty sold 5,558 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the executive vice president directly owned 67,122 shares of the company's stock, valued at $13,841,227.62. This represents a 7.65% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 14,919 shares of company stock worth $3,072,899. Company insiders own 0.88% of the company's stock.

Quest Diagnostics Stock Down 0.1%

Quest Diagnostics stock opened at $194.78 on Monday. 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 quick ratio of 1.08 and a current ratio of 1.18. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a one year low of $164.65 and a one year high of $213.50. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $194.46 and a 200 day moving average of $191.09.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 21st. The medical research company reported $2.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.37 by $0.13. Quest Diagnostics had a return on equity of 15.60% and a net margin of 9.07%.The business had revenue of $2.90 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.83 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.94 earnings per share. Quest Diagnostics's revenue for the quarter was up 9.2% on a year-over-year basis. Quest Diagnostics has set its FY 2026 guidance at 10.630-10.830 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Quest Diagnostics Incorporated will post 10.72 EPS for the current year.

Quest Diagnostics announced that its board has initiated a stock buyback plan on Tuesday, February 10th that authorizes the company to buyback $1.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the medical research company to buy up to 4.7% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are typically a sign that the company's board believes its stock is undervalued.

Quest Diagnostics Announces Dividend

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on DGX shares. Evercore set a $225.00 price objective on Quest Diagnostics in a research report on Tuesday, April 21st. UBS Group upped their price objective on Quest Diagnostics from $210.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Citigroup upped their price objective on Quest Diagnostics from $190.00 to $215.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 10th. Truist Financial upped their price objective on Quest Diagnostics from $220.00 to $225.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut Quest Diagnostics from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Quest Diagnostics has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $216.58.

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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