VCI Wealth Management LLC Purchases Shares of 9,423 Quest Diagnostics Incorporated $DGX

Key Points

• VCI Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake of 9,423 shares in Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) during Q4, valued at about $1.635 million, while institutional investors collectively own 88.06% of the company.
• Quest beat Q4 expectations with $2.42 EPS vs. $2.35 est and $2.81B revenue vs. $2.75B est, set FY2026 guidance of $9.45–9.65 EPS, the board approved a $1.0 billion share repurchase, and the quarterly dividend was raised to $0.86 ($3.44 annual).
• Insiders sold 24,083 shares worth about $4.95 million in the last quarter (insiders own 8.16%), and analysts hold a consensus "Hold" rating with a $210.69 target (seven Buy, eight Hold).

VCI Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund purchased 9,423 shares of the medical research company's stock, valued at approximately $1,635,000.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in DGX. State Street Corp lifted its stake in Quest Diagnostics by 0.8% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 5,223,930 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $995,577,000 after purchasing an additional 38,931 shares in the last quarter. Boston Partners lifted its stake in 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 acquiring an additional 997,033 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its holdings in Quest Diagnostics by 0.3% during the 3rd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,907,510 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $363,509,000 after acquiring an additional 6,155 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. grew its position in Quest Diagnostics by 1.8% in the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,688,769 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $321,846,000 after acquiring an additional 30,418 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE lifted its position in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 2.2% during the third quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 1,635,075 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $311,613,000 after purchasing an additional 35,473 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 88.06% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at Quest Diagnostics

In other Quest Diagnostics news, SVP Patrick Plewman sold 5,662 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $204.00, for a total value of $1,155,048.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president owned 15,381 shares in the company, valued at $3,137,724. This represents a 26.91% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, SVP Michael E. Prevoznik sold 3,878 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $206.21, for a total value of $799,682.38. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 37,557 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,744,628.97. The trade was a 9.36% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 24,083 shares of company stock worth $4,945,262. Corporate insiders own 8.16% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently weighed in on DGX. Truist Financial upped their target price on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $205.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 11th. Citigroup increased their price objective on Quest Diagnostics from $190.00 to $215.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 10th. Weiss Ratings reissued a "buy (b-)" rating on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Robert W. Baird set a $219.00 price target on Quest Diagnostics in a research report on Wednesday, February 11th. Finally, Barclays boosted their price objective on Quest Diagnostics from $210.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 11th. 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 a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $210.69.

Quest Diagnostics Stock Up 1.8%

Shares of NYSE:DGX traded up $3.42 on Friday, hitting $194.88. 999,818 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 843,644. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a 1-year low of $160.02 and a 1-year high of $213.50. The company has a market capitalization of $21.57 billion, a PE ratio of 22.27, a P/E/G ratio of 2.47 and a beta of 0.66. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72, a quick ratio of 0.96 and a current ratio of 1.04. The firm's 50-day moving average is $200.42 and its 200 day moving average is $188.68.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, February 10th. The medical research company reported $2.42 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.35 by $0.07. The business had revenue of $2.81 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.75 billion. Quest Diagnostics had a return on equity of 15.57% and a net margin of 8.99%.The business's quarterly revenue was up 7.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.23 EPS. Quest Diagnostics has set its FY 2026 guidance at 9.45-9.650 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Quest Diagnostics Incorporated will post 9.7 EPS for the current year.

Quest Diagnostics declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share 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 often a sign that the company's board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Quest Diagnostics Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 20th. Stockholders of record on Monday, April 6th will be given a dividend of $0.86 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, April 6th. This represents a $3.44 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.8%. This is a boost from Quest Diagnostics's previous quarterly dividend of $0.80. Quest Diagnostics's payout ratio is presently 39.31%.

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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