Quest Diagnostics Incorporated $DGX Shares Sold by Artia Global Partners LP

Artia Global Partners LP trimmed its holdings in shares of Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) by 50.1% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 40,817 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 40,900 shares during the quarter. Quest Diagnostics makes up approximately 1.0% of Artia Global Partners LP’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 17th largest position. Artia Global Partners LP’s holdings in Quest Diagnostics were worth $7,083,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in DGX. Brighton Jones LLC acquired a new position in shares of Quest Diagnostics during the 4th quarter worth approximately $323,000. Cresset Asset Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 4.6% during the 2nd quarter. Cresset Asset Management LLC now owns 4,003 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $719,000 after buying an additional 176 shares during the period. Gabelli Funds LLC acquired a new position in shares of Quest Diagnostics during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $287,000. Bank of Nova Scotia raised its stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 7.2% during the 2nd quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia now owns 14,339 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $2,576,000 after buying an additional 962 shares during the period. Finally, Daiwa Securities Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 17.1% during the 2nd quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 18,599 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $3,341,000 after buying an additional 2,718 shares during the period. 88.06% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Quest Diagnostics Trading Down 1.5%

DGX opened at $197.97 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67, a current ratio of 1.18 and a quick ratio of 1.08. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $195.10 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $192.07. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a 1-year low of $164.65 and a 1-year high of $213.50. The firm has a market capitalization of $21.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.88, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.40 and a beta of 0.59.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) last released 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 business had revenue of $2.90 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.83 billion. Quest Diagnostics had a net margin of 9.07% and a return on equity of 15.60%. The business’s revenue was up 9.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.94 EPS. Quest Diagnostics has set its FY 2026 guidance at 10.630-10.830 EPS. Analysts expect that Quest Diagnostics Incorporated will post 10.72 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Quest Diagnostics Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 22nd. Investors of record on Wednesday, July 8th will be issued a $0.86 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, July 8th. This represents a $3.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.7%. Quest Diagnostics’s dividend payout ratio is currently 38.01%.

Insider Transactions at Quest Diagnostics

In related news, SVP Karthik Kuppusamy sold 8,147 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $200.00, for a total value of $1,629,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 13,510 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,702,000. This represents a 37.62% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO J. E. Davis sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $194.14, for a total transaction of $1,941,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 132,423 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $25,708,601.22. This represents a 7.02% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Corporate insiders own 0.88% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on DGX. Truist Financial upped their target price on Quest Diagnostics from $220.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 22nd. Wall Street Zen cut Quest Diagnostics from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, May 30th. UBS Group boosted their price target on Quest Diagnostics from $210.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Barclays boosted their price target on Quest Diagnostics from $225.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $225.00 price target on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a research report on Tuesday, April 21st. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target 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.