Quest Diagnostics Incorporated $DGX Stock Holdings Increased by Artemis Investment Management LLP

Artemis Investment Management LLP raised its holdings in shares of Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX - Free Report) by 6.7% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 460,725 shares of the medical research company's stock after buying an additional 29,084 shares during the period. Artemis Investment Management LLP owned about 0.41% of Quest Diagnostics worth $79,950,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in DGX. Boston Partners raised its position in Quest Diagnostics by 32.8% during the third quarter. Boston Partners now owns 4,036,881 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $767,978,000 after buying an additional 997,033 shares during the period. EdgePoint Investment Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 66,757.0% during the 3rd quarter. EdgePoint Investment Group Inc. now owns 849,752 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $161,946,000 after purchasing an additional 848,481 shares during the last quarter. UBS Group AG increased its holdings in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 67.8% during the 4th quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 1,114,451 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $193,391,000 after acquiring an additional 450,161 shares during the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE grew its stake in Quest Diagnostics by 36.3% in the 2nd quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 1,599,602 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $287,337,000 after buying an additional 426,399 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Marshall Wace LLP grew its stake in Quest Diagnostics by 171.7% in the 3rd quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 557,155 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $106,183,000 after buying an additional 352,072 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 88.06% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

DGX has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Citigroup raised their price target on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $190.00 to $215.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 10th. Barclays boosted their price target on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $225.00 to $230.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Mizuho boosted their price objective on Quest Diagnostics from $210.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 12th. Truist Financial upped their price target on Quest Diagnostics from $220.00 to $225.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 22nd. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group restated a "buy" rating and issued a $225.00 price objective on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a report on Tuesday, April 21st. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Quest Diagnostics has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $214.54.

Quest Diagnostics Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:DGX opened at $192.50 on Friday. The company's 50 day moving average price is $199.17 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $189.64. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a 12-month low of $164.65 and a 12-month high of $213.50. The firm has a market cap of $21.31 billion, a PE ratio of 21.27, a PEG ratio of 2.32 and a beta of 0.60. The company has a quick ratio of 1.08, a current ratio of 1.18 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, April 21st. The medical research company reported $2.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.37 by $0.13. The firm had revenue of $2.90 billion for 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%. The business's revenue was up 9.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.94 EPS. Quest Diagnostics has set its FY 2026 guidance at 10.630-10.830 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that Quest Diagnostics Incorporated will post 10.71 earnings per share for the current year.

Quest Diagnostics Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 20th. Investors of record on Monday, April 6th were given a dividend of $0.86 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, April 6th. This represents a $3.44 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.8%. This is a positive change from Quest Diagnostics's previous quarterly dividend of $0.80. Quest Diagnostics's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 38.01%.

Quest Diagnostics announced that its board has authorized a stock repurchase plan 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 purchase up to 4.7% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are typically a sign that the company's leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Activity

In related news, SVP Karthik Kuppusamy sold 2,628 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $204.86, for a total value 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 ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, SVP Michael E. Prevoznik sold 3,878 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owned 37,557 shares in the company, valued at $7,744,628.97. This trade represents a 9.36% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 24,083 shares of company stock worth $4,945,262. Insiders own 0.88% of the company's stock.

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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