Quest Diagnostics Incorporated $DGX Shares Sold by Tredje AP fonden

Key Points

• Tredje AP fonden cut its Quest Diagnostics stake by 59.4% in the fourth quarter, leaving it with 13,217 shares worth about $2.29 million.
• Several analysts turned more constructive on DGX, with price targets recently raised by firms including Barclays and Robert W. Baird; the stock now carries a Moderate Buy consensus and a $216.58 average target.
• Quest Diagnostics reported better-than-expected quarterly results, posting $2.50 EPS on $2.90 billion in revenue, and also announced a $0.86 quarterly dividend plus a $1 billion share repurchase program.

Tredje AP fonden lessened its stake in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX - Free Report) by 59.4% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 13,217 shares of the medical research company's stock after selling 19,374 shares during the period. Tredje AP fonden's holdings in Quest Diagnostics were worth $2,294,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. JFS Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake 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 boosted its stake in Quest Diagnostics by 113.7% in the fourth quarter. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC now owns 156 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 83 shares in the last quarter. McIlrath & Eck LLC acquired a new position in Quest Diagnostics in the fourth quarter valued at $32,000. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd acquired a new position in Quest Diagnostics in the third quarter valued at $33,000. Finally, ORG Partners LLC boosted its stake in Quest Diagnostics by 66.1% in the fourth quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 211 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $37,000 after acquiring an additional 84 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 88.06% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have issued reports on DGX shares. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Quest Diagnostics from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, April 25th. Barclays upped their price objective 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 price objective on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a research note on Tuesday, April 21st. Robert W. Baird increased their target price 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. Finally, Truist Financial raised their price target on Quest Diagnostics from $220.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $216.58.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, SVP Karthik Kuppusamy sold 2,628 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $204.86, for a total transaction of $538,372.08. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 13,441 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,753,523.26. This represents a 16.35% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Patrick Plewman sold 2,855 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $206.21, for a total value of $588,729.55. Following the transaction, 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 ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last quarter, insiders sold 14,919 shares of company stock valued at $3,072,899. Corporate insiders own 0.88% of the company's stock.

Quest Diagnostics Stock Performance

NYSE:DGX opened at $194.13 on Thursday. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $195.10 and its 200 day moving average price is $190.30. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a 1-year low of $164.65 and a 1-year high of $213.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67, a current ratio of 1.18 and a quick ratio of 1.08. The firm has a market cap of $21.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.45, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.27 and a beta of 0.60.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 21st. The medical research company reported $2.50 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.37 by $0.13. Quest Diagnostics had a net margin of 9.07% and a return on equity of 15.60%. The company had revenue of $2.90 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.83 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.94 EPS. Quest Diagnostics's quarterly revenue was up 9.2% on a year-over-year basis. Quest Diagnostics has set its FY 2026 guidance at 10.630-10.830 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Quest Diagnostics Incorporated will post 10.72 EPS for the current year.

Quest Diagnostics Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 22nd. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, July 8th will be issued a $0.86 dividend. This represents a $3.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, July 8th. Quest Diagnostics's payout ratio is currently 38.01%.

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

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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