Cibc World Market Inc. Has $2.43 Million Stock Position in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated $DGX

Cibc World Market Inc. lifted its stake in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) by 80.5% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 14,017 shares of the medical research company’s stock after purchasing an additional 6,252 shares during the period. Cibc World Market Inc.’s holdings in Quest Diagnostics were worth $2,432,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of DGX. JFS Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 114.3% in the 4th quarter. JFS Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 150 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 80 shares during the period. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC boosted its position in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 113.7% in 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 during the period. McIlrath & Eck LLC acquired a new position in shares of Quest Diagnostics in the 4th quarter valued at $32,000. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Quest Diagnostics in the 3rd quarter valued at $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 valued at $37,000 after purchasing an additional 84 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 88.06% of the company’s stock.

Quest Diagnostics Stock Down 1.6%

DGX opened at $197.07 on Tuesday. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $164.65 and a fifty-two week high of $213.50. The business has a 50-day moving average of $194.42 and a 200-day moving average of $191.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67, a current ratio of 1.18 and a quick ratio of 1.08. The company has a market capitalization of $21.82 billion, a PE ratio of 21.78, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.39 and a beta of 0.59.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 21st. The medical research company reported $2.50 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.37 by $0.13. Quest Diagnostics had a return on equity of 15.60% and a net margin of 9.07%.The business had revenue of $2.90 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.83 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.94 EPS. The firm’s revenue 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. Equities research analysts forecast that Quest Diagnostics Incorporated will post 10.72 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Quest Diagnostics declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a share buyback plan on Tuesday, February 10th that authorizes the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the medical research company to purchase up to 4.7% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are generally a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Quest Diagnostics Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 22nd. Investors of record on Wednesday, July 8th will be paid a $0.86 dividend. This represents a $3.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, July 8th. Quest Diagnostics’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 38.01%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO J. E. Davis sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 1st. The stock was 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 approximately $25,708,601.22. This trade represents a 7.02% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, SVP Karthik Kuppusamy sold 8,147 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $200.00, for a total value of $1,629,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 13,510 shares in the company, valued at $2,702,000. The trade was a 37.62% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. 0.88% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

DGX has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. UBS Group increased their price target on Quest Diagnostics from $210.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Evercore set a $225.00 price target on Quest Diagnostics in a research report on Tuesday, April 21st. Weiss Ratings lowered Quest Diagnostics from a “buy (b+)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 19th. Wall Street Zen lowered Quest Diagnostics from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, May 30th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group restated a “buy” rating and set a $225.00 price objective on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a research report on Tuesday, April 21st. 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, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average 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.