Quest Diagnostics Incorporated $DGX Shares Sold by Integral Health Asset Management LLC

Integral Health Asset Management LLC trimmed its position in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) by 43.3% during the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 85,000 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 65,000 shares during the period. Quest Diagnostics accounts for about 1.1% of Integral Health Asset Management LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 22nd largest position. Integral Health Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Quest Diagnostics were worth $16,199,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in DGX. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in Quest Diagnostics by 2.1% in the second quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 14,233,576 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $2,556,777,000 after purchasing an additional 296,860 shares during the period. Boston Partners increased its position in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 32.8% during the third quarter. Boston Partners now owns 4,036,881 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $767,978,000 after acquiring an additional 997,033 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 7.5% during the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,982,415 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $533,563,000 after acquiring an additional 208,261 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its position in Quest Diagnostics by 0.3% in the third quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,907,510 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $363,509,000 after purchasing an additional 6,155 shares during the period. Finally, Invesco Ltd. lifted its stake in Quest Diagnostics by 1.8% during the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,688,769 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $321,846,000 after purchasing an additional 30,418 shares in the last quarter. 88.06% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

DGX has been the subject of a number of research reports. UBS Group lifted their price objective on Quest Diagnostics from $190.00 to $210.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 11th. Truist Financial increased their target price on Quest Diagnostics from $205.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 11th. Evercore set a $220.00 target price on Quest Diagnostics in a report on Wednesday, February 11th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their target price on Quest Diagnostics from $215.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 10th. Finally, Citigroup boosted their price target on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $190.00 to $215.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 10th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $210.29.

Quest Diagnostics Stock Performance

Shares of DGX stock opened at $199.61 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $194.29 and a two-hundred day moving average of $186.39. The stock has a market capitalization of $21.93 billion, a PE ratio of 22.81, a P/E/G ratio of 2.59 and a beta of 0.66. The company has a quick ratio of 0.96, a current ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a 52 week low of $157.20 and a 52 week high of $213.50.

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

Quest Diagnostics Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 20th. Stockholders of record on Monday, April 6th will be paid a $0.86 dividend. This represents a $3.44 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.7%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, April 6th. This is a boost from Quest Diagnostics’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.80. Quest Diagnostics’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 36.57%.

Quest Diagnostics announced that its board has authorized a share buyback plan on Tuesday, February 10th that allows the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the medical research company to purchase up to 4.7% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are usually 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 firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $206.21, for a total value of $799,682.38. Following the sale, the senior vice president owned 37,557 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,744,628.97. This trade represents a 9.36% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Karthik Kuppusamy sold 2,628 shares of Quest Diagnostics stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $204.86, for a total transaction of $538,372.08. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president owned 13,441 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,753,523.26. This represents a 16.35% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 24,083 shares of company stock worth $4,945,262. 8.16% of the stock is owned by corporate 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.