Quest Diagnostics Incorporated $DGX Shares Sold by Sterling Capital Management LLC

Sterling Capital Management LLC decreased its holdings in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) by 43.2% in the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 3,755 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 2,854 shares during the quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Quest Diagnostics were worth $736,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of DGX. Quattro Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Quest Diagnostics in the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. JFS Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Quest Diagnostics by 114.3% during the fourth quarter. JFS Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 150 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 80 shares in the last quarter. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC grew its position in Quest Diagnostics by 113.7% during the fourth quarter. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC now owns 156 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 83 shares during the period. DV Equities LLC acquired a new position in Quest Diagnostics during the fourth quarter worth about $27,000. Finally, Sittner & Nelson LLC purchased a new position in Quest Diagnostics in the fourth quarter valued at about $29,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 88.06% of the company’s stock.

Quest Diagnostics Stock Up 2.0%

DGX stock opened at $216.23 on Thursday. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $196.97 and its 200-day simple moving average is $193.57. The firm has a market capitalization of $23.94 billion, a PE ratio of 23.89, a P/E/G ratio of 2.53 and a beta of 0.58. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a 12 month low of $164.65 and a 12 month high of $216.87. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67, a current ratio of 1.18 and a quick ratio of 1.08.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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. Quest Diagnostics had a return on equity of 15.60% and a net margin of 9.07%.The firm had revenue of $2.90 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.83 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.94 EPS. The company’s quarterly 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. Equities analysts expect that Quest Diagnostics Incorporated will post 10.72 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Quest Diagnostics Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 22nd. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, July 8th will be issued a $0.86 dividend. This represents a $3.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, July 8th. Quest Diagnostics’s payout ratio is 38.01%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on DGX shares. Truist Financial lifted their price target on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $220.00 to $225.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 22nd. UBS Group raised their price objective on Quest Diagnostics from $210.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 22nd. Robert W. Baird lifted their price objective on Quest Diagnostics from $224.00 to $229.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $225.00 target price on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a research report on Tuesday, April 21st. Finally, Barclays upped their target price on Quest Diagnostics from $225.00 to $230.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Quest Diagnostics currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $216.58.

Insider Buying and Selling at Quest Diagnostics

In related news, SVP Karthik Kuppusamy sold 8,147 shares of Quest Diagnostics stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $200.00, for a total transaction of $1,629,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 13,510 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,702,000. This trade represents a 37.62% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO J. E. Davis sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 132,423 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $25,708,601.22. The trade was a 7.02% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. 0.88% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.