Quest Diagnostics Incorporated $DGX Shares Sold by Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH

Key Points

• Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH trimmed its stake in Quest Diagnostics by 35.9%, selling 67,214 shares and now holding 119,869 shares worth $20.898 million (about 0.11% of the company).
• Quest Diagnostics beat quarterly expectations, reporting $2.50 EPS vs. $2.37 est. and $2.90 billion in revenue (+9.2% YoY), and set FY2026 guidance of $10.630–$10.830 EPS (sell-side consensus ~10.71).
• The company raised its quarterly dividend to $0.86 ($3.44 annualized, 1.8% yield) and its board authorized a $1.0 billion share buyback program to repurchase roughly 4.7% of outstanding shares.

Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH trimmed its holdings in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX - Free Report) by 35.9% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 119,869 shares of the medical research company's stock after selling 67,214 shares during the period. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH owned 0.11% of Quest Diagnostics worth $20,898,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of DGX. JFS Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of 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 buying an additional 80 shares during the last quarter. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC raised its position in shares of 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 buying an additional 83 shares during the last quarter. True Wealth Design LLC raised its position in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 369.7% in the third quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 155 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 122 shares during the last quarter. First Horizon Corp acquired a new stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics in the third quarter valued at about $33,000. Finally, Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics in the third quarter valued at about $33,000. 88.06% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Quest Diagnostics Trading Down 1.8%

Shares of DGX opened at $195.99 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.18, a quick ratio of 0.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a 12-month low of $164.65 and a 12-month high of $213.50. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $200.04 and a 200 day moving average price of $189.32. The firm has a market capitalization of $21.70 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.66, a P/E/G ratio of 2.38 and a beta of 0.66.

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 analysts' consensus estimates of $2.37 by $0.13. The firm 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%. Quest Diagnostics's quarterly revenue was up 9.2% on a year-over-year basis. 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 forecast that Quest Diagnostics Incorporated will post 10.71 EPS for the current year.

Quest Diagnostics Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 20th. Shareholders of record on Monday, April 6th were paid a dividend of $0.86 per share. This represents a $3.44 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.8%. This is a boost from Quest Diagnostics's previous quarterly dividend of $0.80. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, April 6th. Quest Diagnostics's payout ratio 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 reacquire up to 4.7% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are usually an indication that the company's board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Quest Diagnostics from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Saturday. Weiss Ratings reissued a "buy (b-)" rating on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a report on Monday, December 29th. Citigroup upped their price objective on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $190.00 to $215.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 10th. Robert W. Baird upped their price objective on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $224.00 to $229.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday. Finally, UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $210.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $214.54.

Insider Activity at Quest Diagnostics

In other Quest Diagnostics news, EVP Catherine T. Doherty sold 5,558 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the executive vice president owned 67,122 shares of the company's stock, valued at $13,841,227.62. This trade represents a 7.65% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, SVP Karthik Kuppusamy sold 2,628 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $204.86, for a total transaction of $538,372.08. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 13,441 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $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 sold 24,083 shares of company stock worth $4,945,262. 8.16% 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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