Patton Fund Management Inc. Has $5.56 Million Stock Position in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated $DGX

Key Points

• Patton Fund Management boosted its stake in Quest Diagnostics by 2,428.7% in Q4, adding 30,772 shares to hold 32,039 shares valued at $5.56 million.
• Quest's board authorized a $1.00 billion stock buyback (up to 4.7% of shares) and raised the quarterly dividend to $0.86 ($3.44 annualized, ~1.8% yield).
• Company insiders sold 24,083 shares (~$4.95 million) in the last quarter, including SVPs Michael Prevoznik and Patrick Plewman, who materially reduced their holdings.

Patton Fund Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX - Free Report) by 2,428.7% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 32,039 shares of the medical research company's stock after purchasing an additional 30,772 shares during the period. Patton Fund Management Inc.'s holdings in Quest Diagnostics were worth $5,560,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in DGX. JFS Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in 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 period. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC grew its stake in Quest Diagnostics by 113.7% in the fourth quarter. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC now owns 156 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 83 shares during the period. True Wealth Design LLC boosted its position in Quest Diagnostics by 369.7% in the third quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 155 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 122 shares during the last quarter. First Horizon Corp purchased a new position in Quest Diagnostics in the third quarter worth $33,000. Finally, Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd purchased a new position in Quest Diagnostics in the third quarter worth $33,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 88.06% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, SVP Michael E. Prevoznik sold 3,878 shares of Quest Diagnostics stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $206.21, for a total transaction of $799,682.38. Following the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 37,557 shares in the company, valued at $7,744,628.97. The trade was a 9.36% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Patrick Plewman sold 2,855 shares of Quest Diagnostics 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 $588,729.55. Following the sale, the senior vice president owned 15,198 shares in the company, valued at $3,133,979.58. This represents a 15.81% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 24,083 shares of company stock worth $4,945,262. Corporate insiders own 8.16% of the company's stock.

Quest Diagnostics Stock Performance

Quest Diagnostics stock opened at $192.82 on Tuesday. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $200.13 and its 200-day moving average price is $188.58. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72, a quick ratio of 0.96 and a current ratio of 1.04. The stock has a market cap of $21.34 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.04, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.47 and a beta of 0.66. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $160.02 and a fifty-two week high of $213.50.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 10th. The medical research company reported $2.42 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.35 by $0.07. Quest Diagnostics had a return on equity of 15.57% and a net margin of 8.99%.The firm had revenue of $2.81 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.75 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $2.23 EPS. The company's revenue was up 7.1% on a year-over-year basis. Quest Diagnostics has set its FY 2026 guidance at 9.45-9.650 EPS. On average, equities research analysts expect that Quest Diagnostics Incorporated will post 9.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Quest Diagnostics declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock repurchase 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 repurchase up to 4.7% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are typically a sign that the company's board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Quest Diagnostics Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 20th. Shareholders of record on Monday, April 6th will be issued a $0.86 dividend. This is an increase from Quest Diagnostics's previous quarterly dividend of $0.80. The ex-dividend date is Monday, April 6th. This represents a $3.44 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.8%. Quest Diagnostics's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 39.31%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently commented on DGX. Wall Street Zen cut Quest Diagnostics from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Sunday, March 15th. Robert W. Baird set a $219.00 price target on Quest Diagnostics in a research report on Wednesday, February 11th. Barclays upped their price target on Quest Diagnostics from $210.00 to $225.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 11th. Citigroup upped their price target on Quest Diagnostics from $190.00 to $215.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 10th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upped their price target on Quest Diagnostics from $215.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 10th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $210.69.

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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