Quest Diagnostics Incorporated $DGX Shares Acquired by Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd.

Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its stake in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) by 2.2% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 229,410 shares of the medical research company’s stock after buying an additional 5,038 shares during the quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd.’s holdings in Quest Diagnostics were worth $39,869,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd grew its stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 22.1% in the fourth quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd now owns 16,109 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $2,795,000 after buying an additional 2,918 shares in the last quarter. McIlrath & Eck LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics in the fourth quarter valued at about $32,000. Primoris Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Quest Diagnostics in the fourth quarter valued at about $2,169,000. QRG Capital Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Quest Diagnostics by 2.2% in the fourth quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 19,376 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $3,362,000 after purchasing an additional 419 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Hussman Strategic Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in Quest Diagnostics in the fourth quarter valued at about $729,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 88.06% of the company’s stock.

Quest Diagnostics Trading Down 1.8%

NYSE:DGX opened at $187.43 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $20.75 billion, a PE ratio of 20.71, a P/E/G ratio of 2.27 and a beta of 0.60. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a 52 week low of $164.65 and a 52 week high of $213.50. The company has a quick ratio of 1.08, a current ratio of 1.18 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67. The business’s 50 day moving average is $198.21 and its two-hundred day moving average is $189.77.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 21st. The medical research company reported $2.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.37 by $0.13. The business had revenue of $2.90 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.83 billion. Quest Diagnostics had a return on equity of 15.60% and a net margin of 9.07%.The business’s revenue was up 9.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.94 EPS. Quest Diagnostics has set its FY 2026 guidance at 10.630-10.830 EPS. On average, analysts predict that Quest Diagnostics Incorporated will post 10.73 EPS for the current year.

Quest Diagnostics Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 20th. Investors of record on Monday, April 6th were issued a $0.86 dividend. This is a positive change from Quest Diagnostics’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.80. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, April 6th. This represents a $3.44 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.8%. Quest Diagnostics’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 38.01%.

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently commented on the company. Mizuho increased their price target on Quest Diagnostics from $210.00 to $235.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, February 12th. Barclays increased their price target on Quest Diagnostics from $225.00 to $230.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Truist Financial increased their price target on Quest Diagnostics from $220.00 to $225.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Wall Street Zen raised Quest Diagnostics from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, April 25th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $225.00 price target on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a report on Tuesday, April 21st. 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, Quest Diagnostics presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $216.58.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Quest Diagnostics news, SVP Patrick Plewman sold 2,855 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $206.21, for a total transaction of $588,729.55. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 15,198 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,133,979.58. The trade was a 15.81% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, SVP Karthik Kuppusamy sold 2,628 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $204.86, for a total transaction of $538,372.08. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 13,441 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,753,523.26. The trade was a 16.35% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 24,083 shares of company stock worth $4,945,262. Company insiders own 0.88% of the company’s stock.

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.