Quest Diagnostics Incorporated $DGX Shares Sold by Lazard Asset Management LLC

Key Points

• Lazard Asset Management reduced its Quest Diagnostics stake by 35.9% in the first quarter, selling 27,248 shares and retaining 48,586 shares valued at $9.52 million. Institutional investors and hedge funds collectively own 88.06% of DGX.
• Analyst sentiment remains mixed, with six Buy ratings and seven Hold ratings. The consensus rating is Hold, with an average price target of $235.31, while recent targets range from $225 to $260.
• Quest Diagnostics exceeded quarterly expectations, reporting $3.12 in adjusted earnings per share and $3.04 billion in revenue, up 10.2% year over year. The company also maintains a quarterly dividend of $0.86 per share, representing a 1.5% yield.

Lazard Asset Management LLC lessened its position in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX - Free Report) by 35.9% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 48,586 shares of the medical research company's stock after selling 27,248 shares during the period. Lazard Asset Management LLC's holdings in Quest Diagnostics were worth $9,522,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in DGX. Brighton Jones LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $323,000. Cresset Asset Management LLC raised its position in Quest Diagnostics by 4.6% in the second quarter. Cresset Asset Management LLC now owns 4,003 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $719,000 after acquiring an additional 176 shares in the last quarter. Gabelli Funds LLC purchased a new position in Quest Diagnostics in the second quarter worth $287,000. Bank of Nova Scotia lifted its holdings in Quest Diagnostics by 7.2% in the second quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia now owns 14,339 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $2,576,000 after acquiring an additional 962 shares during the period. Finally, Daiwa Securities Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 17.1% during the 2nd 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 in the last quarter. 88.06% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently commented on DGX shares. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Quest Diagnostics from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday. Robert W. Baird increased their target price on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $236.00 to $255.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, July 24th. Truist Financial lifted their price target on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $225.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, July 24th. Evercore set a $225.00 price target on Quest Diagnostics in a research note on Tuesday, April 21st. Finally, Mizuho upped their price target on Quest Diagnostics from $235.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, July 24th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $235.31.

Quest Diagnostics Price Performance

Shares of NYSE DGX opened at $235.01 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $25.94 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.95, a PEG ratio of 2.17 and a beta of 0.58. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a 52 week low of $166.75 and a 52 week high of $240.13. The company's 50-day moving average price is $205.78 and its 200 day moving average price is $198.92. The company has a current ratio of 1.59, a quick ratio of 1.46 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, July 23rd. The medical research company reported $3.12 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.82 by $0.30. Quest Diagnostics had a net margin of 9.18% and a return on equity of 16.01%. The firm had revenue of $3.04 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.97 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $2.62 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 10.2% on a year-over-year basis. Quest Diagnostics has set its FY 2026 guidance at 11.050-11.250 EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that Quest Diagnostics Incorporated will post 11.16 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Quest Diagnostics Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 22nd. Investors of record on Wednesday, July 8th were given a dividend of $0.86 per share. This represents a $3.44 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.5%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, July 8th. Quest Diagnostics's payout ratio is currently 36.52%.

Insider Activity at Quest Diagnostics

In other news, SVP Karthik Kuppusamy sold 8,147 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $200.00, for a total value of $1,629,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 13,510 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,702,000. The trade was a 37.62% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, SVP Mark E. Delaney sold 1,600 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $235.18, for a total value of $376,288.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 10,335 shares in the company, valued at $2,430,585.30. This represents a 13.41% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 19,747 shares of company stock valued at $3,947,088. 0.88% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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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