Quest Diagnostics Incorporated $DGX Shares Acquired by Rice Partnership LLC

Rice Partnership LLC grew its holdings in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) by 12.3% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 24,524 shares of the medical research company’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,684 shares during the period. Rice Partnership LLC’s holdings in Quest Diagnostics were worth $4,256,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. JFS Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake 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 acquiring an additional 80 shares in the last quarter. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC grew its stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 113.7% during 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 in the last quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Quest Diagnostics during the third quarter worth $33,000. McIlrath & Eck LLC acquired a new position in shares of Quest Diagnostics during the fourth quarter worth $32,000. Finally, Wellington Shields Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Quest Diagnostics during the third quarter worth $38,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 88.06% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Quest Diagnostics

In other news, EVP Catherine T. Doherty sold 5,558 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the executive vice president directly owned 67,122 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $13,841,227.62. This represents a 7.65% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Michael E. Prevoznik sold 3,878 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $206.21, for a total transaction of $799,682.38. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 37,557 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,744,628.97. The trade was a 9.36% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold a total of 22,291 shares of company stock valued at $4,475,927 over the last ninety days. 0.88% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Quest Diagnostics Price Performance

Shares of DGX opened at $192.93 on Wednesday. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a 1-year low of $164.65 and a 1-year high of $213.50. The stock has a market cap of $21.36 billion, a PE ratio of 21.32, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.29 and a beta of 0.59. 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 firm has a fifty day moving average price of $194.42 and a 200 day moving average price of $191.11.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) last announced its quarterly earnings results 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 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 period in the previous year, the company earned $1.94 earnings per share. Quest Diagnostics’s quarterly 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. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Quest Diagnostics Incorporated will post 10.72 EPS for the current year.

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

Quest Diagnostics Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 22nd. Investors of record on Wednesday, July 8th will be given a $0.86 dividend. 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 payout ratio is 38.01%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

DGX has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Robert W. Baird boosted their target price on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $224.00 to $229.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 22nd. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Quest Diagnostics from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday. Truist Financial boosted their target price on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $220.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 22nd. Evercore set a $225.00 target price on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a research note on Tuesday, April 21st. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $225.00 target price on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a research note on Tuesday, April 21st. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $216.58.

Quest Diagnostics 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.