Primoris Wealth Advisors LLC Makes New Investment in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated $DGX

Key Points

• Primoris Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position of 12,500 shares in Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) during Q4, worth about $2.17 million and representing roughly 1.3% of its portfolio (its 26th largest holding).
• Quest Diagnostics beat quarterly expectations with $2.50 EPS vs. $2.37 est and $2.90B revenue vs. $2.83B est, set FY2026 guidance of $10.630–$10.830 EPS, and has boosted its quarterly dividend to $0.86 while authorizing a $1.0 billion share buyback.
• Analyst sentiment is mixed—the consensus rating is Hold with an average price target of $214.54—and institutional investors own about 88.06% of the company's stock.

Primoris Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 12,500 shares of the medical research company's stock, valued at approximately $2,169,000. Quest Diagnostics accounts for about 1.3% of Primoris Wealth Advisors LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 26th largest position.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of DGX. Brighton Jones LLC purchased a new position in Quest Diagnostics during the fourth quarter worth approximately $323,000. Cresset Asset Management LLC raised its stake in Quest Diagnostics by 4.6% during the second quarter. Cresset Asset Management LLC now owns 4,003 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $719,000 after purchasing an additional 176 shares during the period. Gabelli Funds LLC purchased a new position in Quest Diagnostics during the second quarter worth approximately $287,000. Bank of Nova Scotia raised its stake in Quest Diagnostics by 7.2% during the second quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia now owns 14,339 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $2,576,000 after purchasing an additional 962 shares during the period. Finally, Daiwa Securities Group Inc. raised its stake in Quest Diagnostics by 17.1% during the second quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 18,599 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $3,341,000 after purchasing an additional 2,718 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 88.06% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the stock. Robert W. Baird increased their price target on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $224.00 to $229.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 22nd. Barclays raised their target price on shares of 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 shares of Quest Diagnostics in a research note on Tuesday, April 21st. Citigroup raised their target price on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $190.00 to $215.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 10th. Finally, Mizuho raised their target price on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $210.00 to $235.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 12th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Quest Diagnostics has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $214.54.

Quest Diagnostics Price Performance

DGX opened at $191.66 on Tuesday. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $199.17 and a 200 day simple moving average of $189.72. The firm has a market cap of $21.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.18, a PEG ratio of 2.30 and a beta of 0.60. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a twelve month low of $164.65 and a twelve month high of $213.50. The company has a current ratio of 1.18, a quick ratio of 1.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67.

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 analysts' consensus estimates of $2.37 by $0.13. The business had revenue of $2.90 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.83 billion. Quest Diagnostics had a net margin of 9.07% and a return on equity of 15.60%. The business's revenue was up 9.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.94 EPS. Quest Diagnostics has set its FY 2026 guidance at 10.630-10.830 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that Quest Diagnostics Incorporated will post 10.71 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Quest Diagnostics Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 20th. Investors of record on Monday, April 6th were issued a dividend of $0.86 per share. This represents a $3.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, April 6th. This is a positive change from Quest Diagnostics's previous quarterly dividend of $0.80. Quest Diagnostics's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 38.01%.

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

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Catherine T. Doherty sold 5,558 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $206.21, for a total transaction of $1,146,115.18. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 67,122 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $13,841,227.62. This trade represents a 7.65% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, SVP Karthik Kuppusamy sold 2,628 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $204.86, for a total transaction of $538,372.08. Following the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 13,441 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,753,523.26. The trade was a 16.35% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold a total of 24,083 shares of company stock valued at $4,945,262 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.88% of the company's stock.

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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