Banque Cantonale Vaudoise Has $1.21 Million Stock Position in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated $DGX

Banque Cantonale Vaudoise lowered its position in shares of Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) by 54.1% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 6,981 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 8,241 shares during the period. Banque Cantonale Vaudoise’s holdings in Quest Diagnostics were worth $1,211,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. JFS Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 114.3% during the 4th 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 holdings in Quest Diagnostics by 113.7% during the 4th quarter. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC now owns 156 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 83 shares in the last quarter. McIlrath & Eck LLC acquired a new stake in Quest Diagnostics during the 4th quarter valued at $32,000. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd acquired a new stake in Quest Diagnostics during the 3rd quarter valued at $33,000. Finally, ORG Partners LLC increased its holdings in Quest Diagnostics by 66.1% during the 4th quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 211 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $37,000 after purchasing an additional 84 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 88.06% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have weighed in on DGX. Mizuho raised their price objective on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $210.00 to $235.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 12th. Citigroup raised their price objective on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $190.00 to $215.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 10th. Truist Financial raised their price objective on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $220.00 to $225.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Evercore set a $225.00 price objective on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a research report on Tuesday, April 21st. Finally, UBS Group lifted their target price on Quest Diagnostics from $210.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 22nd. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Quest Diagnostics currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $216.58.

Quest Diagnostics Stock Up 0.7%

Shares of Quest Diagnostics stock opened at $195.23 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.08, a current ratio of 1.18 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a 12 month low of $164.65 and a 12 month high of $213.50. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $194.85 and a 200 day simple moving average of $190.46. The stock has a market cap of $21.61 billion, a PE ratio of 21.57, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 0.60.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 21st. The medical research company reported $2.50 earnings per share (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 firm had revenue of $2.90 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.83 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.94 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.2% on a year-over-year basis. Quest Diagnostics has set its FY 2026 guidance at 10.630-10.830 EPS. Research analysts predict that Quest Diagnostics Incorporated will post 10.72 EPS for the current year.

Quest Diagnostics Announces Dividend

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

Quest Diagnostics declared that its Board of Directors has approved a stock repurchase plan on Tuesday, February 10th that permits the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the medical research company to purchase up to 4.7% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are often a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, 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 value of $1,146,115.18. Following the completion of the sale, 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 ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, 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 value of $588,729.55. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 15,198 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,133,979.58. The trade was 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 valued at $3,072,899. 0.88% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.