Quest Diagnostics Incorporated $DGX Shares Purchased by Ethic Inc.

Ethic Inc. boosted its position in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) by 41.4% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 20,391 shares of the medical research company’s stock after buying an additional 5,967 shares during the quarter. Ethic Inc.’s holdings in Quest Diagnostics were worth $3,539,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. HB Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in Quest Diagnostics by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. HB Wealth Management LLC now owns 11,292 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $1,960,000 after buying an additional 58 shares in the last quarter. Independent Advisor Alliance grew its stake in Quest Diagnostics by 1.4% during the 3rd quarter. Independent Advisor Alliance now owns 4,232 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $807,000 after purchasing an additional 59 shares in the last quarter. Ossiam grew its stake in Quest Diagnostics by 6.1% during the 3rd quarter. Ossiam now owns 1,059 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $202,000 after purchasing an additional 61 shares in the last quarter. Fulton Bank N.A. grew its stake in Quest Diagnostics by 1.7% during 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, Checchi Capital Advisers LLC grew its stake in Quest Diagnostics by 5.6% during the 4th quarter. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC now owns 1,326 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $230,000 after purchasing an additional 70 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 88.06% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have weighed in on DGX. Weiss Ratings upgraded Quest Diagnostics from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b+)” rating in a research note on Monday, May 4th. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $225.00 price target on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a report on Tuesday, April 21st. Mizuho upped their price target on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $210.00 to $235.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, February 12th. Robert W. Baird upped their price target on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $224.00 to $229.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised shares of Quest Diagnostics from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, April 25th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $216.58.

Quest Diagnostics Stock Performance

Shares of DGX opened at $189.88 on Tuesday. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a 1 year low of $164.65 and a 1 year high of $213.50. The company has a market cap of $21.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.98, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.23 and a beta of 0.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67, a quick ratio of 1.08 and a current ratio of 1.18. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $197.38 and a 200-day moving average of $189.79.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) last announced its quarterly earnings results 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. Quest Diagnostics had a net margin of 9.07% and a return on equity of 15.60%. The company had revenue of $2.90 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.83 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.94 earnings per share. Quest Diagnostics’s revenue was up 9.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Quest Diagnostics has set its FY 2026 guidance at 10.630-10.830 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Quest Diagnostics Incorporated will post 10.73 earnings per share for the current year.

Quest Diagnostics declared that its board has approved a stock buyback plan 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 reacquire up to 4.7% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are generally an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Quest Diagnostics news, SVP Michael E. Prevoznik sold 3,878 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $206.21, for a total transaction of $799,682.38. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president owned 37,557 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,744,628.97. The trade was a 9.36% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Catherine T. Doherty sold 5,558 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $206.21, for a total value of $1,146,115.18. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 67,122 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $13,841,227.62. This trade represents a 7.65% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 18,421 shares of company stock worth $3,790,214. Insiders own 0.88% of the company’s stock.

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.