Tredje AP fonden Decreases Holdings in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated $DGX

Tredje AP fonden lowered its position in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) by 59.4% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 13,217 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 19,374 shares during the quarter. Tredje AP fonden’s holdings in Quest Diagnostics were worth $2,294,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. JFS Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its position in Quest Diagnostics by 114.3% during 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 in the last quarter. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC increased its position 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 valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 83 shares in the last quarter. McIlrath & Eck LLC acquired a new position in shares of Quest Diagnostics during the 4th quarter worth $32,000. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Quest Diagnostics during the 3rd quarter worth $33,000. Finally, ORG Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 66.1% in the 4th quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 211 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $37,000 after buying an additional 84 shares in the last quarter. 88.06% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In related news, SVP Patrick Plewman sold 2,855 shares of the firm’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 $588,729.55. Following the sale, the senior vice president owned 15,198 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,133,979.58. This trade represents a 15.81% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Catherine T. Doherty sold 5,558 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $206.21, for a total transaction of $1,146,115.18. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 67,122 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,841,227.62. This trade represents a 7.65% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold a total of 14,919 shares of company stock worth $3,072,899 in the last three months. 0.88% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $225.00 price objective on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a research note on Tuesday, April 21st. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Quest Diagnostics from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, April 25th. Evercore set a $225.00 price target on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a research report on Tuesday, April 21st. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Quest Diagnostics from a “buy (b+)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, UBS Group increased their price target on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $210.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report 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 company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $216.58.

Quest Diagnostics Stock Up 2.0%

DGX stock opened at $194.13 on Thursday. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $195.10 and its 200-day simple moving average is $190.30. The firm has a market capitalization of $21.49 billion, a PE ratio of 21.45, a P/E/G ratio of 2.27 and a beta of 0.60. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a 12 month low of $164.65 and a 12 month high of $213.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67, a current ratio of 1.18 and a quick ratio of 1.08.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) last released its quarterly earnings results 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 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 quarterly revenue was up 9.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.94 earnings per share. Quest Diagnostics has set its FY 2026 guidance at 10.630-10.830 EPS. Equities analysts expect that Quest Diagnostics Incorporated will post 10.72 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Quest Diagnostics announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback program on Tuesday, February 10th that permits the company to buyback $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the medical research company to reacquire up to 4.7% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are usually an indication that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Quest Diagnostics Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 22nd. Investors of record on Wednesday, July 8th will be given a dividend of $0.86 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, July 8th. This represents a $3.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.8%. Quest Diagnostics’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 38.01%.

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.