Victory Capital Management Inc. Sells 217,552 Shares of Quest Diagnostics Incorporated $DGX

Key Points

• Victory Capital Management trimmed its Quest Diagnostics stake by 9.3% in the fourth quarter, selling 217,552 shares but still holding 2.13 million shares valued at about $369 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 announced a quarterly dividend of $0.86 per share, and analysts remain broadly positive with a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $216.58.

Victory Capital Management Inc. decreased its position in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX - Free Report) by 9.3% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 2,126,422 shares of the medical research company's stock after selling 217,552 shares during the period. Victory Capital Management Inc. owned about 1.91% of Quest Diagnostics worth $368,998,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. JFS Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 114.3% in the fourth quarter. JFS Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 150 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 80 shares during the last quarter. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC grew its holdings in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 113.7% in the fourth quarter. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC now owns 156 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 83 shares during the last quarter. Sittner & Nelson LLC bought a new position in shares of Quest Diagnostics in the fourth quarter worth approximately $29,000. McIlrath & Eck LLC bought a new position in shares of Quest Diagnostics in the fourth quarter worth approximately $32,000. Finally, Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd bought a new position in shares of Quest Diagnostics in the third quarter worth approximately $33,000. Institutional investors own 88.06% of the company's stock.

Quest Diagnostics Stock Performance

Shares of Quest Diagnostics stock opened at $202.62 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.18, a quick ratio of 1.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67. The firm has a market capitalization of $22.43 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.39, a P/E/G ratio of 2.43 and a beta of 0.59. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $194.99 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $191.86. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a 12 month low of $164.65 and a 12 month high of $213.50.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 21st. The medical research company reported $2.50 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.37 by $0.13. The business had revenue of $2.90 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.83 billion. Quest Diagnostics had a return on equity of 15.60% and a net margin of 9.07%.The company's revenue for the quarter was up 9.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.94 earnings per share. Quest Diagnostics has set its FY 2026 guidance at 10.630-10.830 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that Quest Diagnostics Incorporated will post 10.72 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Quest Diagnostics Dividend Announcement

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently weighed in on DGX. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $225.00 to $230.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Quest Diagnostics from a "buy (b)" rating to a "buy (b+)" rating in a report on Tuesday. Truist Financial lifted their price target on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $220.00 to $225.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $225.00 price target on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a report on Tuesday, April 21st. Finally, Robert W. Baird lifted 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. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Quest Diagnostics currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $216.58.

Insider Buying and Selling at Quest Diagnostics

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