Savant Capital LLC Cuts Position in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated $DGX

Savant Capital LLC lessened its holdings in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) by 73.8% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 3,283 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 9,256 shares during the quarter. Savant Capital LLC’s holdings in Quest Diagnostics were worth $570,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of DGX. JFS Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 114.3% during the fourth quarter. JFS Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 150 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 80 shares in the last quarter. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC raised its stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 113.7% in the fourth quarter. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC now owns 156 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 83 shares during the last quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Quest Diagnostics in the third quarter worth $33,000. McIlrath & Eck LLC purchased a new position in shares of Quest Diagnostics in the fourth quarter worth $32,000. Finally, Wellington Shields Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Quest Diagnostics in the third quarter worth $38,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 88.06% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently weighed in on DGX. Citigroup boosted their price target 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 Quest Diagnostics from $210.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 12th. Barclays boosted their price target on Quest Diagnostics from $225.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 22nd. Weiss Ratings cut shares of Quest Diagnostics from a “buy (b+)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 19th. Finally, UBS Group raised their target price on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $210.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $216.58.

Insider Activity at Quest Diagnostics

In other news, CEO J. E. Davis sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on 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 sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 132,423 shares in the company, valued at $25,708,601.22. This trade represents a 7.02% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. 0.88% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Quest Diagnostics Stock Up 0.5%

DGX opened at $194.17 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $21.50 billion, a PE ratio of 21.46, a PEG ratio of 2.30 and a beta of 0.59. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a 1-year low of $164.65 and a 1-year high of $213.50. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $194.34 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $191.20. The company has a current ratio of 1.18, a quick ratio of 1.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 21st. The medical research company reported $2.50 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.37 by $0.13. The firm had revenue of $2.90 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.83 billion. Quest Diagnostics had a net margin of 9.07% and a return on equity of 15.60%. The company’s revenue was up 9.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.94 EPS. Quest Diagnostics has set its FY 2026 guidance at 10.630-10.830 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Quest Diagnostics Incorporated will post 10.72 EPS for the current year.

Quest Diagnostics Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 22nd. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, July 8th will be given a dividend of $0.86 per share. This represents a $3.44 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.8%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, July 8th. Quest Diagnostics’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 38.01%.

Quest Diagnostics announced that its Board of Directors has approved a stock buyback plan on Tuesday, February 10th that permits the company to buyback $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the medical research company to repurchase up to 4.7% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are generally a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

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.