Quest Diagnostics Incorporated $DGX Shares Acquired by SG Americas Securities LLC

SG Americas Securities LLC increased its position in shares of Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) by 694.2% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 179,653 shares of the medical research company’s stock after buying an additional 157,031 shares during the period. SG Americas Securities LLC owned 0.16% of Quest Diagnostics worth $31,175,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its position in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 346.5% in the fourth quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 24,949 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $4,329,000 after acquiring an additional 19,361 shares during the period. Diversified Trust Co. acquired a new stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics during the 4th quarter valued at about $262,000. TABR Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Quest Diagnostics in the 4th quarter valued at about $339,000. Fulton Bank N.A. increased its stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 1.7% in the 4th quarter. Fulton Bank N.A. now owns 4,180 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $725,000 after purchasing an additional 68 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC raised its holdings in Quest Diagnostics by 14.3% in the 4th quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 17,239 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $3,125,000 after purchasing an additional 2,152 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 88.06% of the company’s stock.

Quest Diagnostics Stock Performance

NYSE DGX opened at $196.31 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72, a current ratio of 1.04 and a quick ratio of 0.96. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $197.16 and its 200-day simple moving average is $187.32. The company has a market cap of $21.57 billion, a PE ratio of 22.44, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.53 and a beta of 0.66. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a 1-year low of $157.20 and a 1-year high of $213.50.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 10th. The medical research company reported $2.42 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 analysts’ expectations of $2.75 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $2.23 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.1% on a year-over-year basis. Quest Diagnostics has set its FY 2026 guidance at 9.45-9.650 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Quest Diagnostics Incorporated will post 9.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Quest Diagnostics Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared 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 is an increase from Quest Diagnostics’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.80. This represents a $3.44 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, April 6th. Quest Diagnostics’s payout ratio is 36.57%.

Quest Diagnostics declared that its board has approved a stock repurchase program 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 buy up to 4.7% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are often an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have commented on the company. Barclays raised 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. Citigroup upped their target price on Quest Diagnostics from $190.00 to $215.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 10th. Mizuho boosted their price target on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $210.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, February 12th. Robert W. Baird set a $219.00 price objective on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a research report on Wednesday, February 11th. Finally, UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $190.00 to $210.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 11th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $210.29.

Insider Buying and Selling at Quest Diagnostics

In other news, SVP Karthik Kuppusamy sold 2,628 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $204.86, for a total value 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 ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, SVP Patrick Plewman sold 5,662 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $204.00, for a total value of $1,155,048.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 15,381 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,137,724. This represents a 26.91% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 24,083 shares of company stock valued at $4,945,262. Insiders own 8.16% of the company’s stock.

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.