Quest Diagnostics Incorporated $DGX Shares Sold by Te Ahumairangi Investment Management Ltd

Te Ahumairangi Investment Management Ltd lessened its stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) by 10.2% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 34,536 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 3,922 shares during the quarter. Quest Diagnostics comprises about 1.1% of Te Ahumairangi Investment Management Ltd’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 27th biggest position. Te Ahumairangi Investment Management Ltd’s holdings in Quest Diagnostics were worth $5,993,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. JFS Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position 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 valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 80 shares during the last quarter. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC raised its position 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 valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 83 shares during the last quarter. Sittner & Nelson LLC acquired a new position in shares of Quest Diagnostics in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $29,000. McIlrath & Eck LLC acquired a new position in shares of Quest Diagnostics in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Finally, Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd acquired a new stake in Quest Diagnostics in the 3rd quarter worth about $33,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 88.06% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have issued reports on the company. Weiss Ratings raised Quest Diagnostics from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b+)” rating in a research note on Tuesday. UBS Group raised their price target on Quest Diagnostics from $210.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 22nd. Barclays upped their price objective on Quest Diagnostics from $225.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Truist Financial upped their price objective on Quest Diagnostics from $220.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report 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 report on Thursday, February 12th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $216.58.

Quest Diagnostics Stock Down 0.1%

Shares of NYSE DGX opened at $203.61 on Friday. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a 12-month low of $164.65 and a 12-month high of $213.50. The company has a market cap of $22.54 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.50, a P/E/G ratio of 2.43 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. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $194.89 and a 200 day moving average price of $191.78.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) last announced its quarterly 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. Quest Diagnostics had a return on equity of 15.60% and a net margin of 9.07%.The firm had revenue of $2.90 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.83 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.94 EPS. The firm’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. Research analysts anticipate that Quest Diagnostics Incorporated will post 10.72 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Quest Diagnostics Announces Dividend

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO J. E. Davis sold 10,000 shares of Quest Diagnostics stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $194.14, for a total value of $1,941,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 132,423 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $25,708,601.22. The trade was a 7.02% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, SVP Karthik Kuppusamy sold 8,147 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $200.00, for a total transaction of $1,629,400.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 13,510 shares of the company’s stock, 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 owned by company insiders.

Quest Diagnostics Company 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.