Danica Pension Livsforsikringsaktieselskab Takes $2.26 Million Position in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated $DGX

Danica Pension Livsforsikringsaktieselskab bought a new position in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) during the second quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund bought 10,653 shares of the medical research company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,258,000.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of DGX. Davis Selected Advisers boosted its holdings in Quest Diagnostics by 16.8% in the fourth quarter. Davis Selected Advisers now owns 1,589,883 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $275,895,000 after acquiring an additional 228,271 shares in the last quarter. ANTIPODES PARTNERS Ltd grew its stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 178.7% in the fourth quarter. ANTIPODES PARTNERS Ltd now owns 171,987 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $29,847,000 after acquiring an additional 110,280 shares during the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its holdings in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 39.1% during the second quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 15,405 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $3,265,000 after acquiring an additional 4,334 shares in the last quarter. Advisors Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 5.4% during the fourth quarter. Advisors Capital Management LLC now owns 313,838 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $54,460,000 after acquiring an additional 16,194 shares in the last quarter. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Quest Diagnostics in the 4th quarter worth about $92,000. 88.06% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Quest Diagnostics Stock Performance

Shares of DGX opened at $236.71 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.46, a current ratio of 1.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $217.00 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $204.06. The stock has a market cap of $26.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.13, a PEG ratio of 2.16 and a beta of 0.56. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a 52 week low of $171.18 and a 52 week high of $240.13.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 23rd. The medical research company reported $3.12 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.82 by $0.30. The firm had revenue of $3.04 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.97 billion. Quest Diagnostics had a return on equity of 16.01% and a net margin of 9.18%.The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.62 earnings per share. Quest Diagnostics has set its FY 2026 guidance at 11.050-11.250 EPS. On average, analysts expect that Quest Diagnostics Incorporated will post 11.15 EPS for the current year.

Quest Diagnostics Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 21st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, October 6th will be paid a dividend of $0.86 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, October 6th. This represents a $3.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.5%. Quest Diagnostics’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 36.52%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Argus set a $260.00 price target on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a research note on Wednesday, July 29th. Mizuho lifted their target price on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $235.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, July 24th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Quest Diagnostics from a “buy (b+)” rating to a “buy (a-)” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 12th. Robert W. Baird increased their price target on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $236.00 to $255.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, July 24th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised shares of Quest Diagnostics from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 28th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have given a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Quest Diagnostics has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $235.31.

Insider Buying and Selling at Quest Diagnostics

In other Quest Diagnostics news, SVP Karthik Kuppusamy sold 8,147 shares of Quest Diagnostics stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $200.00, for a total transaction of $1,629,400.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 13,510 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,702,000. The trade was a 37.62% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 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 that occurred on Monday, June 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $194.14, for a total transaction of $1,941,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 132,423 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $25,708,601.22. The trade was a 7.02% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold 19,747 shares of company stock valued at $3,947,088 over the last 90 days. 0.88% of the stock is currently 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.