Quest Diagnostics Incorporated $DGX Stock Holdings Increased by Swedbank AB

Key Points

• Swedbank AB increased its Quest Diagnostics stake by 10.1% in the fourth quarter, ending with 93,468 shares valued at about $16.2 million.
• Quest Diagnostics reported strong quarterly earnings, posting $2.50 EPS versus $2.37 expected and revenue of $2.90 billion, up 9.2% year over year.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.86 per share and a $1.0 billion share repurchase program, while analysts currently rate the stock a consensus Moderate Buy.

Swedbank AB increased its holdings in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX - Free Report) by 10.1% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 93,468 shares of the medical research company's stock after purchasing an additional 8,605 shares during the quarter. Swedbank AB owned 0.08% of Quest Diagnostics worth $16,220,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Paradiem LLC bought a new stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics in the 4th quarter worth approximately $13,652,000. Lebenthal Global Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 117.5% in the 3rd quarter. Lebenthal Global Advisors LLC now owns 5,034 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $959,000 after purchasing an additional 2,720 shares in the last quarter. Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA bought a new stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics in the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,517,000. Cibc World Market Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 209.6% in the 3rd quarter. Cibc World Market Inc. now owns 7,765 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $1,480,000 after purchasing an additional 5,257 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its holdings in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 346.5% in the 4th quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 24,949 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $4,329,000 after purchasing an additional 19,361 shares in the last quarter. 88.06% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Quest Diagnostics Stock Up 0.0%

Quest Diagnostics stock opened at $195.23 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $21.61 billion, a PE ratio of 21.57, a P/E/G ratio of 2.33 and a beta of 0.60. 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 firm's 50 day moving average price is $194.74 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $190.66. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a twelve month low of $164.65 and a twelve month high of $213.50.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 21st. The medical research company reported $2.50 earnings per share 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 analyst estimates of $2.83 billion. Quest Diagnostics had a net margin of 9.07% and a return on equity of 15.60%. The company'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 business earned $1.94 EPS. Quest Diagnostics has set its FY 2026 guidance at 10.630-10.830 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that Quest Diagnostics Incorporated will post 10.72 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Quest Diagnostics Announces Dividend

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

Quest Diagnostics announced that its board has approved a stock buyback program on Tuesday, February 10th that allows the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the medical research company to purchase up to 4.7% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are typically a sign that the company's leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently commented on DGX. Truist Financial boosted their target price on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $220.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Evercore set a $225.00 price target on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a report on Tuesday, April 21st. Robert W. Baird boosted their price target on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $224.00 to $229.00 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 target on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a report on Tuesday, April 21st. Finally, UBS Group boosted their price target on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $210.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Quest Diagnostics currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $216.58.

Insider Activity at Quest Diagnostics

In other Quest Diagnostics news, SVP Karthik Kuppusamy sold 2,628 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $204.86, for a total value of $538,372.08. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 13,441 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,753,523.26. This represents a 16.35% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, SVP Michael E. Prevoznik sold 3,878 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $206.21, for a total transaction of $799,682.38. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president owned 37,557 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,744,628.97. This represents a 9.36% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold a total of 14,919 shares of company stock worth $3,072,899 in the last 90 days. 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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