Swiss National Bank Reduces Stake in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated $DGX

Swiss National Bank lessened its holdings in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) by 4.8% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 321,800 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 16,100 shares during the quarter. Swiss National Bank owned about 0.29% of Quest Diagnostics worth $61,329,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Perigon Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 4.5% in the 3rd 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 during the last quarter. Independent Advisor Alliance raised its holdings in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 1.4% during the third quarter. Independent Advisor Alliance now owns 4,232 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $807,000 after purchasing an additional 59 shares during the last quarter. True North Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 4.1% during the third quarter. True North Advisors LLC now owns 1,554 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $296,000 after purchasing an additional 61 shares during the last quarter. OLD Second National Bank of Aurora lifted its position in Quest Diagnostics by 14.9% during 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 purchasing an additional 67 shares during the period. Finally, Personal CFO Solutions LLC lifted its position in Quest Diagnostics by 2.3% during the second quarter. Personal CFO Solutions LLC now owns 3,055 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $549,000 after purchasing an additional 70 shares during the period. 88.06% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Quest Diagnostics Trading Down 0.2%

DGX stock opened at $200.55 on Thursday. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a 52-week low of $157.20 and a 52-week high of $213.50. The company has a quick ratio of 0.96, a current ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72. The firm has a market cap of $22.03 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.92, a PEG ratio of 2.59 and a beta of 0.66. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $193.23 and its 200-day simple moving average is $186.15.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 10th. The medical research company reported $2.42 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.35 by $0.07. Quest Diagnostics had a return on equity of 15.57% and a net margin of 8.99%.The firm had revenue of $2.81 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.75 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.23 EPS. Quest Diagnostics’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Quest Diagnostics has set its FY 2026 guidance at 9.45-9.650 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Quest Diagnostics Incorporated will post 9.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Quest Diagnostics Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 20th. Shareholders of record on Monday, April 6th will be issued a $0.86 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, April 6th. This is an increase from Quest Diagnostics’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.80. This represents a $3.44 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.7%. Quest Diagnostics’s dividend payout ratio is 39.31%.

Quest Diagnostics declared that its board has initiated a stock buyback plan on Tuesday, February 10th that authorizes the company to buyback $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the medical research company to purchase up to 4.7% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are usually an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. Mizuho increased their price target on Quest Diagnostics from $210.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 12th. Barclays boosted their price objective on Quest Diagnostics from $210.00 to $225.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 11th. Evercore set a $220.00 target price on Quest Diagnostics in a research note on Wednesday, February 11th. Citigroup raised their target price on Quest Diagnostics from $190.00 to $215.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 10th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $210.29.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other 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 transaction, the senior vice president owned 15,198 shares in the company, valued at $3,133,979.58. This trade represents a 15.81% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, SVP Karthik Kuppusamy sold 2,628 shares of Quest Diagnostics stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $204.86, for a total transaction of $538,372.08. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 13,441 shares in the company, valued at $2,753,523.26. This represents a 16.35% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold 24,083 shares of company stock valued at $4,945,262 over the last ninety days. 8.16% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.