Tidal Investments LLC Decreases Stock Holdings in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated $DGX

Key Points

• Tidal Investments cut its Quest Diagnostics position by 33.4% in the second quarter, selling 12,366 shares and retaining 24,698 shares valued at approximately $5.24 million.
• Institutional ownership remains high at 88.06%, while analysts maintain a “Moderate Buy” consensus with an average price target of $236.31.
• Quest Diagnostics reported quarterly revenue of $3.04 billion and EPS of $3.12, exceeding estimates, and declared a quarterly dividend of $0.86 per share, equivalent to a 1.5% annual yield.

Tidal Investments LLC lowered its position in shares of Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX - Free Report) by 33.4% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 24,698 shares of the medical research company's stock after selling 12,366 shares during the period. Tidal Investments LLC's holdings in Quest Diagnostics were worth $5,235,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. California State Teachers Retirement System boosted its holdings in Quest Diagnostics by 22,733.0% in the second quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 37,043,773 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $7,851,428,000 after purchasing an additional 36,881,535 shares in the last quarter. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new stake in Quest Diagnostics during the second quarter worth approximately $1,965,923,000. Bank of America Corp DE acquired a new stake in Quest Diagnostics during the second quarter worth approximately $410,151,000. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics during the 4th quarter worth approximately $229,522,000. Finally, Boston Partners lifted its position in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 32.8% during the 3rd quarter. Boston Partners now owns 4,036,881 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $767,978,000 after buying an additional 997,033 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 88.06% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

DGX has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Quest Diagnostics from a "buy (b+)" rating to a "buy (a-)" rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 12th. Argus set a $260.00 price objective on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a research note on Wednesday, July 29th. Mizuho raised their price objective on Quest Diagnostics from $235.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, July 24th. Robert W. Baird lifted their target price on Quest Diagnostics from $236.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, July 24th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised Quest Diagnostics from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 28th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have given a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Quest Diagnostics currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $236.31.

Insider Buying and Selling at Quest Diagnostics

In other news, SVP Mark E. Delaney sold 1,600 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $235.18, for a total value of $376,288.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 10,335 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,430,585.30. This trade represents a 13.41% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 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 Tuesday, September 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $242.72, for a total value of $2,427,200.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 122,423 shares in the company, valued at approximately $29,714,510.56. This trade represents a 7.55% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 34,277 shares of company stock valued at $8,316,493. 0.88% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Quest Diagnostics Stock Performance

Shares of DGX opened at $234.80 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $25.92 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.93, a P/E/G ratio of 2.15 and a beta of 0.55. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72, a quick ratio of 1.46 and a current ratio of 1.59. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a 1 year low of $171.18 and a 1 year high of $247.19. The company's fifty day moving average is $229.71 and its two-hundred day moving average is $209.40.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, July 23rd. The medical research company reported $3.12 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.82 by $0.30. Quest Diagnostics had a net margin of 9.18% and a return on equity of 16.01%. The company had revenue of $3.04 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.97 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $2.62 EPS. The business's revenue was up 10.2% on a year-over-year basis. Quest Diagnostics has set its FY 2026 guidance at 11.050-11.250 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Quest Diagnostics Incorporated will post 11.15 earnings per share for the current year.

Quest Diagnostics Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 21st. Investors of record on Tuesday, October 6th will be given a $0.86 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, October 6th. This represents a $3.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.5%. Quest Diagnostics's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 36.52%.

Quest Diagnostics Company Profile

Quest Diagnostics Incorporated NYSE: DGX is a provider of diagnostic information services. The company performs laboratory testing used to help diagnose, monitor and manage diseases and other health conditions, serving physicians, hospitals, health plans, employers, government agencies and individual consumers.

Its services include routine blood and urine testing, advanced and esoteric diagnostics, molecular and genetic testing, anatomic pathology, cancer testing, drug screening and wellness-related assessments.

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