Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. Reduces Holdings in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated $DGX

Key Points

• Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. reduced its Quest Diagnostics stake by 4.5% in the first quarter, though it still held 264,754 shares worth about $51.9 million.
• Quest Diagnostics reported better-than-expected quarterly results, with EPS of $2.50 versus $2.37 expected and revenue of $2.90 billion, up 9.2% year over year.
• The company also announced a quarterly dividend of $0.86 per share, and analysts currently rate the stock a consensus “Moderate Buy” with an average target price of $216.58.

Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. lowered its stake in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX - Free Report) by 4.5% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 264,754 shares of the medical research company's stock after selling 12,429 shares during the quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. owned approximately 0.24% of Quest Diagnostics worth $51,886,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Key Financial Inc lifted its position in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 1,728.6% in the first quarter. Key Financial Inc now owns 128 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 121 shares in the last quarter. Quattro Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Quest Diagnostics in the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. JFS Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in Quest Diagnostics by 114.3% in the 4th quarter. JFS Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 150 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 80 shares during the last quarter. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC lifted its holdings in Quest Diagnostics by 113.7% in the 4th quarter. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC now owns 156 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 83 shares in the last quarter. Finally, DV Equities LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics during the 4th quarter worth about $27,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 88.06% of the company's stock.

Quest Diagnostics Stock Up 0.1%

Shares of NYSE DGX opened at $207.60 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $22.98 billion, a PE ratio of 22.94, a P/E/G ratio of 2.47 and a beta of 0.58. The company has a quick ratio of 1.08, a current ratio of 1.18 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $198.87 and a 200-day moving average of $195.17. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a 52-week low of $164.65 and a 52-week high of $219.20.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, April 21st. The medical research company reported $2.50 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.37 by $0.13. Quest Diagnostics had a return on equity of 15.60% and a net margin of 9.07%.The business had revenue of $2.90 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.83 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.94 EPS. The business'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, analysts anticipate that Quest Diagnostics Incorporated will post 10.72 EPS for the current year.

Quest Diagnostics Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 22nd. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, July 8th will be paid a $0.86 dividend. This represents a $3.44 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, July 8th. Quest Diagnostics's payout ratio is currently 38.01%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Evercore set a $225.00 price target on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a report on Tuesday, April 21st. UBS Group raised their target price on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $210.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Robert W. Baird lifted 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. Barclays boosted their price target on Quest Diagnostics from $225.00 to $230.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Finally, Truist Financial increased their price target on Quest Diagnostics from $220.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 22nd. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Quest Diagnostics has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $216.58.

Insider Activity

In related news, SVP Karthik Kuppusamy sold 8,147 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $200.00, for a total value of $1,629,400.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 13,510 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,702,000. This trade represents a 37.62% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO J. E. Davis sold 10,000 shares of Quest Diagnostics stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $194.14, for a total transaction of $1,941,400.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 132,423 shares in the company, valued at approximately $25,708,601.22. This trade represents a 7.02% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders own 0.88% of the company's stock.

About Quest Diagnostics

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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