Pensionfund Sabic Takes $1.11 Million Position in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated $DGX

Key Points

• Pensionfund Sabic bought a new position of 6,400 shares in Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) in Q4, valued at approximately $1.11 million.
• Quest Diagnostics beat Q4 expectations with EPS of $2.42 (vs. $2.35) and revenue of $2.81B (+7.1% YoY), set FY2026 EPS guidance of 9.45–9.65, and its board authorized a $1.0 billion share repurchase while raising the quarterly dividend to $0.86.
• Institutional ownership is high at 88.06% while insiders have trimmed positions (24,083 shares sold in the last three months), and analysts maintain a consensus "Moderate Buy" with an average target of $210.29.

Pensionfund Sabic purchased a new position in shares of Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 6,400 shares of the medical research company's stock, valued at approximately $1,111,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the business. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Quest Diagnostics during the 2nd quarter valued at about $238,122,000. Boston Partners lifted its holdings in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 997,033 shares in the last quarter. EdgePoint Investment Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 66,757.0% in the third quarter. EdgePoint Investment Group Inc. now owns 849,752 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $161,946,000 after purchasing an additional 848,481 shares in the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. grew its position in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 2,531.6% in the third quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 450,898 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $85,932,000 after purchasing an additional 433,764 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE grew its position in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 36.3% in the second quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 1,599,602 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $287,337,000 after purchasing an additional 426,399 shares during the last quarter. 88.06% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Quest Diagnostics news, SVP Patrick Plewman sold 2,855 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $206.21, for a total value of $588,729.55. Following the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 15,198 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,133,979.58. This trade represents a 15.81% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Michael E. Prevoznik sold 3,878 shares of Quest Diagnostics stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $206.21, for a total value of $799,682.38. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 37,557 shares of the company's stock, valued at $7,744,628.97. This trade represents a 9.36% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold 24,083 shares of company stock worth $4,945,262 in the last three months. Company insiders own 8.16% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts recently issued reports on DGX shares. Barclays lifted their price objective on Quest Diagnostics from $210.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 11th. Wall Street Zen cut Quest Diagnostics from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Sunday, March 15th. Citigroup raised their price target on Quest Diagnostics from $190.00 to $215.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 10th. UBS Group boosted their price target on Quest Diagnostics from $190.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 11th. Finally, Mizuho upped their price objective on Quest Diagnostics from $210.00 to $235.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 12th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $210.29.

Quest Diagnostics Stock Performance

NYSE:DGX opened at $196.31 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72, a current ratio of 1.04 and a quick ratio of 0.96. The firm has a market cap of $21.57 billion, a PE ratio of 22.44, a P/E/G ratio of 2.53 and a beta of 0.66. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $197.16 and a 200-day simple moving average of $187.32. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a 1-year low of $157.20 and a 1-year high of $213.50.

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

Quest Diagnostics announced that its board has initiated a share repurchase plan on Tuesday, February 10th that authorizes the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the medical research company to repurchase up to 4.7% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are typically an indication that the company's board 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. Stockholders of record on Monday, April 6th will be issued a dividend of $0.86 per share. This represents a $3.44 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.8%. This is a positive change from Quest Diagnostics's previous quarterly dividend of $0.80. The ex-dividend date is Monday, April 6th. Quest Diagnostics's payout ratio is 36.57%.

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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