North Dakota State Investment Board Acquires Shares of 3,823 Quest Diagnostics Incorporated $DGX

North Dakota State Investment Board acquired a new stake in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 3,823 shares of the medical research company’s stock, valued at approximately $663,000.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in DGX. Brighton Jones LLC purchased a new stake in Quest Diagnostics in the 4th quarter valued at about $323,000. Cresset Asset Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 4.6% in the 2nd quarter. Cresset Asset Management LLC now owns 4,003 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $719,000 after purchasing an additional 176 shares during the period. Gabelli Funds LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $287,000. Bank of Nova Scotia lifted its position in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 7.2% in the 2nd quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia now owns 14,339 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $2,576,000 after purchasing an additional 962 shares during the period. Finally, Daiwa Securities Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 17.1% in the 2nd quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 18,599 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $3,341,000 after purchasing an additional 2,718 shares during the period. 88.06% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Quest Diagnostics Trading Down 0.0%

NYSE:DGX opened at $193.67 on Friday. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a 52 week low of $164.65 and a 52 week high of $213.50. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $194.96 and a 200 day moving average of $190.43. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $21.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.40, a PEG ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 0.60.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, April 21st. The medical research company reported $2.50 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.37 by $0.13. Quest Diagnostics had a net margin of 9.07% and a return on equity of 15.60%. The company had revenue of $2.90 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.83 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.94 earnings per share. Quest Diagnostics’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Quest Diagnostics has set its FY 2026 guidance at 10.630-10.830 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Quest Diagnostics Incorporated will post 10.72 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Quest Diagnostics declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback plan on Tuesday, February 10th that authorizes the company to buyback $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the medical research company to buy up to 4.7% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are generally a sign that the company’s management believes its stock is 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 of this dividend 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 is presently 38.01%.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Catherine T. Doherty sold 5,558 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $206.21, for a total value of $1,146,115.18. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 67,122 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $13,841,227.62. This trade represents a 7.65% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Patrick Plewman sold 2,855 shares of Quest Diagnostics 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 $588,729.55. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 15,198 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,133,979.58. This trade represents a 15.81% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last three months, insiders sold 14,919 shares of company stock worth $3,072,899. 0.88% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on DGX shares. UBS Group upped their price target 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. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Quest Diagnostics from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, April 25th. Citigroup upped their price target on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $190.00 to $215.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 10th. Truist Financial upped their price target on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $220.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Finally, Weiss Ratings cut shares of Quest Diagnostics from a “buy (b+)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $216.58.

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.