MQS Management LLC Makes New $557,000 Investment in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated $DGX

MQS Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund acquired 3,209 shares of the medical research company’s stock, valued at approximately $557,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Evoke Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in Quest Diagnostics during the 4th quarter worth approximately $387,000. SGL Investment Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in Quest Diagnostics by 1.6% during the 4th quarter. SGL Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 28,499 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $5,480,000 after purchasing an additional 450 shares during the last quarter. Keudell Morrison Wealth Management purchased a new stake in Quest Diagnostics during the 4th quarter worth approximately $381,000. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in Quest Diagnostics by 45.4% during the 4th quarter. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC now owns 7,086 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $1,230,000 after purchasing an additional 2,213 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Global Retirement Partners LLC increased its holdings in Quest Diagnostics by 166.3% during the 4th quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 1,944 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $337,000 after purchasing an additional 1,214 shares during the last quarter. 88.06% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on DGX shares. Weiss Ratings downgraded Quest Diagnostics from a “buy (b+)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a report on Tuesday. Mizuho lifted their price objective on Quest Diagnostics from $210.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, February 12th. Robert W. Baird lifted their price objective on Quest Diagnostics from $224.00 to $229.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 22nd. UBS Group lifted their price objective on Quest Diagnostics from $210.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Finally, Citigroup upped their price target on Quest Diagnostics from $190.00 to $215.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 10th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $216.58.

Quest Diagnostics Stock Up 0.7%

Shares of NYSE:DGX opened at $195.23 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $21.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.57, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 0.60. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a 1-year low of $164.65 and a 1-year high of $213.50. The company’s fifty day moving average is $194.85 and its two-hundred day moving average is $190.46. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67, a quick ratio of 1.08 and a current ratio of 1.18.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, April 21st. The medical research company reported $2.50 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.37 by $0.13. The company had revenue of $2.90 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.83 billion. Quest Diagnostics had a net margin of 9.07% and a return on equity of 15.60%. The firm’s revenue was up 9.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.94 earnings per share. Quest Diagnostics has set its FY 2026 guidance at 10.630-10.830 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate 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. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, July 8th will be issued a dividend of $0.86 per share. This represents a $3.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, July 8th. Quest Diagnostics’s dividend payout ratio is 38.01%.

Quest Diagnostics declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share buyback program on Tuesday, February 10th that authorizes the company to buyback $1.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the medical research company to repurchase up to 4.7% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are generally an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP Michael E. Prevoznik sold 3,878 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $206.21, for a total transaction of $799,682.38. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president directly 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 filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Patrick Plewman sold 2,855 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $206.21, for a total value of $588,729.55. Following the transaction, the senior vice president 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. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold 14,919 shares of company stock valued at $3,072,899 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.88% of the company’s stock.

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.