Intech Investment Management LLC Sells 17,233 Shares of Quest Diagnostics Incorporated $DGX

Intech Investment Management LLC decreased its holdings in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) by 39.5% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 26,357 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 17,233 shares during the period. Intech Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Quest Diagnostics were worth $4,574,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in DGX. JFS Wealth Advisors LLC boosted 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 during the period. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC boosted its stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 113.7% in the fourth quarter. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC now owns 156 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 83 shares during the period. McIlrath & Eck LLC bought a new position in shares of Quest Diagnostics in the fourth quarter worth about $32,000. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd bought a new position in shares of Quest Diagnostics in the third quarter worth about $33,000. Finally, ORG Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 66.1% in the fourth quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 211 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $37,000 after acquiring an additional 84 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 88.06% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

DGX has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Citigroup upped their price objective on Quest Diagnostics from $190.00 to $215.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 10th. Truist Financial upped their price objective on 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 price objective on Quest Diagnostics in a research note on Tuesday, April 21st. Robert W. Baird upped their price objective on Quest Diagnostics from $224.00 to $229.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 22nd. Finally, Mizuho upped their price objective on Quest Diagnostics from $210.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 12th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $216.58.

Insider Transactions at Quest Diagnostics

In related news, SVP Patrick Plewman sold 2,855 shares of the 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 transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 15,198 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,133,979.58. This represents a 15.81% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Catherine T. Doherty sold 5,558 shares of the company’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 $1,146,115.18. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 67,122 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,841,227.62. This trade represents a 7.65% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold a total of 14,919 shares of company stock valued at $3,072,899 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.88% of the company’s stock.

Quest Diagnostics Price Performance

Shares of Quest Diagnostics stock opened at $194.78 on Monday. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $194.46 and a 200 day moving average of $191.09. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a 12 month low of $164.65 and a 12 month high of $213.50. The firm has a market cap of $21.56 billion, a PE ratio of 21.52, a PEG ratio of 2.32 and a beta of 0.59. The company has a current ratio of 1.18, a quick ratio of 1.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) last announced its quarterly 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 return on equity of 15.60% and a net margin of 9.07%.The company had revenue of $2.90 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.83 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.94 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 9.2% on a year-over-year basis. Quest Diagnostics has set its FY 2026 guidance at 10.630-10.830 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that Quest Diagnostics Incorporated will post 10.72 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Quest Diagnostics Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 22nd. Investors of record on Wednesday, July 8th will be paid 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%.

Quest Diagnostics announced that its board has initiated a stock repurchase plan on Tuesday, February 10th that authorizes the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in 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 often a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

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.