Quest Diagnostics Incorporated $DGX Position Trimmed by Schroder Investment Management Group

Key Points

• Schroder Investment Management Group trimmed its stake in Quest Diagnostics by 11.1% in Q3, selling 39,334 shares and leaving it with 314,445 shares valued at about $59.38 million.
• Quest Diagnostics beat quarterly estimates (EPS $2.42 vs. $2.35; revenue $2.81B vs. $2.75B), set FY2026 EPS guidance of 9.45–9.65, announced a $1.00 billion share buyback and raised its quarterly dividend to $0.86.
• The stock carries a consensus "Moderate Buy" from analysts with an average target near $210.29, while insiders have sold roughly 24,083 shares in the past three months.

Schroder Investment Management Group decreased its holdings in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX - Free Report) by 11.1% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 314,445 shares of the medical research company's stock after selling 39,334 shares during the quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group owned 0.28% of Quest Diagnostics worth $59,380,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. MTM Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics during the 2nd quarter worth $29,000. True Wealth Design LLC raised its position in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 369.7% during 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 period. First Horizon Corp purchased a new stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics during the third quarter valued at $33,000. Rexford Capital Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics during the second quarter valued at $36,000. Finally, Wellington Shields Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Quest Diagnostics in the 3rd quarter valued at $38,000. Institutional investors own 88.06% of the company's stock.

Quest Diagnostics Stock Performance

Shares of DGX stock opened at $200.68 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $22.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.94, a P/E/G ratio of 2.61 and a beta of 0.66. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a 1-year low of $157.20 and a 1-year high of $213.50. The company has a current ratio of 1.04, a quick ratio of 0.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $192.69 and its 200-day simple moving average is $186.05.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 10th. The medical research company reported $2.42 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.75 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $2.23 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter 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, sell-side analysts predict that Quest Diagnostics Incorporated will post 9.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Quest Diagnostics announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback program on Tuesday, February 10th that permits the company to buyback $1.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the medical research company to purchase up to 4.7% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are usually an indication that the company's management believes its shares are undervalued.

Quest Diagnostics Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 20th. Investors of record on Monday, April 6th will be issued a dividend of $0.86 per share. This is an increase from Quest Diagnostics's previous quarterly dividend of $0.80. This represents a $3.44 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.7%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, April 6th. Quest Diagnostics's dividend payout ratio is 36.57%.

Insider Activity at Quest Diagnostics

In other Quest Diagnostics news, SVP Michael E. Prevoznik sold 3,878 shares of the 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 completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 37,557 shares in the company, valued at $7,744,628.97. This represents a 9.36% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Karthik Kuppusamy sold 2,628 shares of Quest Diagnostics 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 $2,753,523.26. This trade represents a 16.35% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last three months, insiders have sold 24,083 shares of company stock valued at $4,945,262. 8.16% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on the company. Robert W. Baird set a $219.00 price target on Quest Diagnostics in a research note on Wednesday, February 11th. Mizuho upped their price objective 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. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Quest Diagnostics from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Saturday. Evercore set a $220.00 target price on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a research report on Wednesday, February 11th. Finally, UBS Group boosted their price target on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $190.00 to $210.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 11th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $210.29.

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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