Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management UK Ltd. Sells 8,000 Shares of Quest Diagnostics Incorporated $DGX

Key Points

• Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management UK Ltd. cut its Quest Diagnostics stake by 72.7% in the fourth quarter, selling 8,000 shares and leaving it with 3,000 shares worth about $521,000.
• Analysts remain cautiously positive on Quest Diagnostics, with seven Buy ratings and seven Hold ratings, an average Moderate Buy rating, and a consensus target price of $216.58.
• Quest Diagnostics reported strong quarterly results, topping EPS and revenue estimates, and the company also authorized a $1 billion stock buyback plan covering up to 4.7% of shares.

Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management UK Ltd. reduced its position in shares of Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX - Free Report) by 72.7% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 3,000 shares of the medical research company's stock after selling 8,000 shares during the period. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management UK Ltd.'s holdings in Quest Diagnostics were worth $521,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in DGX. JFS Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 114.3% during 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 lifted 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 acquiring an additional 83 shares during the period. McIlrath & Eck LLC acquired a new position in shares of Quest Diagnostics in the fourth quarter worth approximately $32,000. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Quest Diagnostics in the third quarter worth approximately $33,000. Finally, ORG Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 66.1% in the fourth quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 211 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $37,000 after acquiring an additional 84 shares during the period. 88.06% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently commented on DGX shares. Evercore set a $225.00 price objective on Quest Diagnostics in a research note on Tuesday, April 21st. Citigroup lifted their price objective on Quest Diagnostics from $190.00 to $215.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 10th. Weiss Ratings raised Quest Diagnostics from a "buy (b)" rating to a "buy (b+)" rating in a research note on Monday, May 4th. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $225.00 price objective on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a research note on Tuesday, April 21st. Finally, UBS Group lifted their price objective on Quest Diagnostics from $210.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note 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. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Quest Diagnostics presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $216.58.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Quest Diagnostics news, EVP Catherine T. Doherty sold 5,558 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 5th. The stock was 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 of the company's stock, valued at approximately $13,841,227.62. The trade was a 7.65% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Michael E. Prevoznik sold 3,878 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $206.21, for a total value of $799,682.38. Following the sale, the senior vice president owned 37,557 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $7,744,628.97. This represents a 9.36% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 18,421 shares of company stock valued at $3,790,214 in the last ninety days. 0.88% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Quest Diagnostics Price Performance

Shares of DGX opened at $190.18 on Wednesday. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a 52-week low of $164.65 and a 52-week high of $213.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67, a quick ratio of 1.08 and a current ratio of 1.18. The business's 50 day moving average price is $195.25 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $190.17. The firm has a market cap of $21.05 billion, a PE ratio of 21.01, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.26 and a beta of 0.60.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX - Get Free Report) last issued 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 firm had revenue of $2.90 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.83 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.94 earnings per share. The company's 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. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Quest Diagnostics Incorporated will post 10.72 EPS for the current year.

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

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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