Quest Diagnostics Incorporated $DGX Shares Acquired by UBS Group AG

UBS Group AG lifted its position in shares of Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) by 67.8% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,114,451 shares of the medical research company’s stock after purchasing an additional 450,161 shares during the period. UBS Group AG’s holdings in Quest Diagnostics were worth $193,391,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Perigon Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in Quest Diagnostics by 4.5% in the third quarter. Perigon Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,275 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $243,000 after acquiring an additional 55 shares in the last quarter. HB Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in Quest Diagnostics by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. HB Wealth Management LLC now owns 11,292 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $1,960,000 after acquiring an additional 58 shares in the last quarter. Independent Advisor Alliance raised its holdings in Quest Diagnostics by 1.4% in the third quarter. Independent Advisor Alliance now owns 4,232 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $807,000 after acquiring an additional 59 shares in the last quarter. Ossiam raised its holdings in Quest Diagnostics by 6.1% in the third quarter. Ossiam now owns 1,059 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $202,000 after acquiring an additional 61 shares in the last quarter. Finally, OLD Second National Bank of Aurora raised its holdings in Quest Diagnostics by 14.9% in the third quarter. OLD Second National Bank of Aurora now owns 517 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $99,000 after acquiring an additional 67 shares in the last quarter. 88.06% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at Quest Diagnostics

In other news, SVP Patrick Plewman sold 5,662 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $204.00, for a total transaction of $1,155,048.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president owned 15,381 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,137,724. This trade represents a 26.91% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, SVP Karthik Kuppusamy sold 2,628 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $204.86, for a total transaction of $538,372.08. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 13,441 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,753,523.26. This trade represents a 16.35% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 24,083 shares of company stock worth $4,945,262. Company insiders own 0.88% of the company’s stock.

Quest Diagnostics Stock Performance

Shares of DGX opened at $189.30 on Thursday. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $199.33 and a 200 day moving average price of $189.61. The firm has a market capitalization of $20.95 billion, a PE ratio of 20.92, a P/E/G ratio of 2.35 and a beta of 0.66. The company has a quick ratio of 1.08, a current ratio of 1.18 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a 52-week low of $164.65 and a 52-week high of $213.50.

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 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 analyst estimates of $2.83 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.94 EPS. Quest Diagnostics’s 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. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Quest Diagnostics Incorporated will post 10.71 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Quest Diagnostics declared that its board has authorized a stock buyback plan on Tuesday, February 10th that allows the company to buyback $1.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the medical research company to buy up to 4.7% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are often an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Quest Diagnostics Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 20th. Stockholders of record on Monday, April 6th were given a dividend of $0.86 per share. This is a positive change from Quest Diagnostics’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.80. The ex-dividend date was Monday, April 6th. This represents a $3.44 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.8%. Quest Diagnostics’s payout ratio is 38.01%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Citigroup upped their price target on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $190.00 to $215.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 10th. Barclays upped their price target on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $225.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Truist Financial upped their price target on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $220.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 22nd. UBS Group upped their price target on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $210.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Finally, Evercore set a $225.00 price target on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a research report on Tuesday, April 21st. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $214.54.

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.