Conning Inc. Acquires New Stake in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated $DGX

Conning Inc. bought a new position in shares of Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor bought 173,262 shares of the medical research company’s stock, valued at approximately $30,066,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in DGX. Boston Partners increased its position in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 32.8% during the 3rd quarter. Boston Partners now owns 4,036,881 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $767,978,000 after purchasing an additional 997,033 shares during the period. EdgePoint Investment Group Inc. boosted its stake in Quest Diagnostics by 66,757.0% during the third quarter. EdgePoint Investment Group Inc. now owns 849,752 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $161,946,000 after buying an additional 848,481 shares in the last quarter. UBS Group AG grew its holdings in Quest Diagnostics by 67.8% during the fourth quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 1,114,451 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $193,391,000 after acquiring an additional 450,161 shares during the period. Bank of America Corp DE raised its position in Quest Diagnostics by 36.3% in the second quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 1,599,602 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $287,337,000 after acquiring an additional 426,399 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Marshall Wace LLP lifted its holdings in Quest Diagnostics by 171.7% in the 3rd quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 557,155 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $106,183,000 after acquiring an additional 352,072 shares during the last quarter. 88.06% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Quest Diagnostics Trading Down 1.6%

Quest Diagnostics stock opened at $187.80 on Friday. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a 52 week low of $164.65 and a 52 week high of $213.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67, a quick ratio of 1.08 and a current ratio of 1.18. The firm has a market capitalization of $20.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.75, a P/E/G ratio of 2.27 and a beta of 0.60. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $196.15 and a 200 day moving average price of $189.94.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, April 21st. The medical research company reported $2.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.37 by $0.13. The company had revenue of $2.90 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.83 billion. Quest Diagnostics had a net margin of 9.07% and a return on equity of 15.60%. The company’s revenue was up 9.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.94 EPS. Quest Diagnostics has set its FY 2026 guidance at 10.630-10.830 EPS. Research analysts forecast that Quest Diagnostics Incorporated will post 10.72 EPS for the current year.

Quest Diagnostics declared that its board has approved a stock repurchase 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 purchase up to 4.7% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are often an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, SVP Michael E. Prevoznik sold 3,878 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $206.21, for a total value of $799,682.38. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 37,557 shares in the company, valued at $7,744,628.97. This represents a 9.36% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 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 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 SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 18,421 shares of company stock valued at $3,790,214 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.88% of the company’s stock.

Key Quest Diagnostics News

Here are the key news stories impacting Quest Diagnostics this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Zacks Research raised its FY2026 EPS estimate for Quest Diagnostics to $10.66 from $10.57 and lifted FY2027 EPS to $11.50 from $11.42, suggesting improved expectations for near- and medium-term profitability.
• Positive Sentiment: Zacks Research also increased its Q4 2026 EPS forecast to $2.60 from $2.58 and bumped its Q3 2027 estimate to $2.97 from $2.90, indicating analysts see steady earnings growth ahead.
• Neutral Sentiment: A separate Barron’s screen included Quest Diagnostics among stocks “coming back to life” after a rough patch, which is more of a sentiment/data screen than a direct company-specific catalyst. Barron’s article
• Neutral Sentiment: Analyst coverage remains constructive overall, with the company carrying an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy,” reinforcing a generally favorable long-term outlook. American Banking News article
• Negative Sentiment: Not all estimate revisions were positive: Zacks trimmed its FY2028 EPS outlook slightly to $12.50 from $12.54 and cut its Q1 2028 estimate to $2.89 from $3.01, which may temper enthusiasm at the long end of the forecast.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently commented on DGX shares. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $225.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Citigroup lifted 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. Wall Street Zen raised Quest Diagnostics from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, April 25th. UBS Group increased their price objective on Quest Diagnostics from $210.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Finally, Robert W. Baird lifted their target price on Quest Diagnostics from $224.00 to $229.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Quest Diagnostics 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.