Quest Diagnostics Incorporated $DGX Shares Purchased by CIBC Asset Management Inc

Key Points

• CIBC Asset Management increased its Quest Diagnostics stake by 12.8% in the fourth quarter, bringing its holdings to 92,129 shares valued at about $16 million.
• Quest Diagnostics CEO J. E. Davis sold 10,000 shares in a pre-arranged 10b5-1 transaction, trimming his ownership by 7.02% while insider ownership remains low at 0.88%.
• The company reported solid quarterly results, beating EPS and revenue estimates, and it also authorized a $1 billion share buyback and a quarterly dividend of $0.86 per share.

CIBC Asset Management Inc raised its stake in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX - Free Report) by 12.8% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 92,129 shares of the medical research company's stock after purchasing an additional 10,478 shares during the quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc owned about 0.08% of Quest Diagnostics worth $15,987,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. JFS Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in Quest Diagnostics by 114.3% in the fourth quarter. JFS Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 150 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 80 shares in the last quarter. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC lifted its position in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 113.7% during the fourth quarter. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC now owns 156 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 83 shares in the last quarter. McIlrath & Eck LLC purchased a new position in shares of Quest Diagnostics in the fourth quarter valued at $32,000. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd acquired a new stake in Quest Diagnostics during the 3rd quarter valued at $33,000. Finally, ORG Partners LLC grew its holdings in Quest Diagnostics by 66.1% during the 4th quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 211 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $37,000 after purchasing an additional 84 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 88.06% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Quest Diagnostics news, CEO J. E. Davis sold 10,000 shares of Quest Diagnostics stock in a transaction on Monday, June 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $194.14, for a total value of $1,941,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 132,423 shares of the company's stock, valued at $25,708,601.22. The trade was a 7.02% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. 0.88% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Quest Diagnostics Stock Up 1.3%

NYSE:DGX opened at $196.16 on Friday. 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 company has a market capitalization of $21.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.67, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 0.59. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a one year low of $164.65 and a one year high of $213.50. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $194.35 and a 200 day simple moving average of $191.26.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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. The firm had revenue of $2.90 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.83 billion. Quest Diagnostics had a return on equity of 15.60% and a net margin of 9.07%.Quest Diagnostics's revenue for the quarter was up 9.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.94 earnings per share. Quest Diagnostics has set its FY 2026 guidance at 10.630-10.830 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Quest Diagnostics Incorporated will post 10.72 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Quest Diagnostics declared that its board has initiated a share buyback program on Tuesday, February 10th that allows the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the medical research company to repurchase up to 4.7% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are often an indication that the company's board believes its stock is undervalued.

Quest Diagnostics Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 22nd. Investors of record on Wednesday, July 8th will be paid a dividend of $0.86 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, July 8th. This represents a $3.44 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.8%. Quest Diagnostics's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 38.01%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Truist Financial raised their target price on Quest Diagnostics from $220.00 to $225.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 22nd. Weiss Ratings cut Quest Diagnostics from a "buy (b+)" rating to a "buy (b)" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 19th. UBS Group increased their price target on Quest Diagnostics from $210.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Jefferies Financial Group restated a "buy" rating and set a $225.00 price objective on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a report on Tuesday, April 21st. Finally, Barclays upped their target price on Quest Diagnostics from $225.00 to $230.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $216.58.

Quest Diagnostics Company 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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