JPMorgan Chase & Co. Sells 161,895 Shares of Quest Diagnostics Incorporated $DGX

Key Points

• JPMorgan Chase reduced its Quest Diagnostics stake by 3.8% in the fourth quarter, selling 161,895 shares and leaving it with 4.15 million shares valued at about $719.4 million.
• Quest Diagnostics beat quarterly expectations, posting earnings of $2.50 per share on revenue of $2.90 billion, both above analyst estimates. Revenue rose 9.2% year over year, and the company reaffirmed FY 2026 EPS guidance of $10.63 to $10.83.
• Analysts remain cautiously positive, with an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $216.58, while the stock recently traded near $204.65. The company also announced a $0.86 quarterly dividend and a $1 billion share buyback program.

JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered its stake in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX - Free Report) by 3.8% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 4,145,896 shares of the medical research company's stock after selling 161,895 shares during the quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. owned about 3.73% of Quest Diagnostics worth $719,438,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Syon Capital LLC raised its stake in Quest Diagnostics by 25.9% during the 4th quarter. Syon Capital LLC now owns 4,067 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $706,000 after purchasing an additional 836 shares during the period. ING Groep NV raised its stake in Quest Diagnostics by 2.8% during the 4th quarter. ING Groep NV now owns 17,109 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $2,969,000 after purchasing an additional 461 shares during the period. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in Quest Diagnostics during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $96,000. Havemeyer Place LP bought a new stake in Quest Diagnostics during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $70,000. Finally, 111 Capital bought a new stake in Quest Diagnostics during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $407,000. Institutional investors own 88.06% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

DGX has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Barclays lifted their target price on Quest Diagnostics from $225.00 to $230.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 22nd. Evercore set a $225.00 target price on Quest Diagnostics in a research note on Tuesday, April 21st. UBS Group raised their price target on Quest Diagnostics from $210.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Mizuho raised their price target on Quest Diagnostics from $210.00 to $235.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, February 12th. Finally, Robert W. Baird raised their price target on Quest Diagnostics from $224.00 to $229.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $216.58.

Quest Diagnostics Stock Performance

NYSE DGX opened at $204.65 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $22.65 billion, a PE ratio of 22.61, a P/E/G ratio of 2.35 and a beta of 0.59. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $194.60 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $191.58. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67, a current ratio of 1.18 and a quick ratio of 1.08. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a 1-year low of $164.65 and a 1-year high of $213.50.

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 for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.37 by $0.13. The business had revenue of $2.90 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.83 billion. Quest Diagnostics had a return on equity of 15.60% and a net margin of 9.07%.The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 9.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.94 EPS. Quest Diagnostics has set its FY 2026 guidance at 10.630-10.830 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that Quest Diagnostics Incorporated will post 10.72 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Quest Diagnostics Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 22nd. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, July 8th will be issued a $0.86 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, July 8th. This represents a $3.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.7%. Quest Diagnostics's payout ratio is 38.01%.

Quest Diagnostics declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share buyback program on Tuesday, February 10th that authorizes the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the medical research company to reacquire up to 4.7% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are generally an indication that the company's board believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, SVP Karthik Kuppusamy sold 8,147 shares of Quest Diagnostics stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $200.00, for a total value of $1,629,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president owned 13,510 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,702,000. The trade was a 37.62% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO J. E. Davis sold 10,000 shares of Quest Diagnostics stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $194.14, for a total value of $1,941,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 132,423 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $25,708,601.22. This trade represents a 7.02% 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. 0.88% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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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