International Assets Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX – Free Report) during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm bought 55,228 shares of the medical research company’s stock, valued at approximately $92,000.
A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of DGX. Brighton Jones LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics in the fourth quarter valued at about $323,000. Cresset Asset Management LLC increased its position in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 4.6% in the second quarter. Cresset Asset Management LLC now owns 4,003 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $719,000 after acquiring an additional 176 shares during the last quarter. Gabelli Funds LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics in the second quarter valued at about $287,000. Bank of Nova Scotia increased its position in Quest Diagnostics by 7.2% during the second quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia now owns 14,339 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $2,576,000 after buying an additional 962 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Daiwa Securities Group Inc. increased its position in Quest Diagnostics by 17.1% during the second quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 18,599 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $3,341,000 after buying an additional 2,718 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 88.06% of the company’s stock.
Analysts Set New Price Targets
A number of brokerages have weighed in on DGX. Wall Street Zen raised Quest Diagnostics from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, April 25th. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a “buy” rating and set a $225.00 price target on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a research report on Tuesday, April 21st. Weiss Ratings raised Quest Diagnostics from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b+)” rating in a research report on Monday, May 4th. Citigroup boosted their price target on Quest Diagnostics from $190.00 to $215.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 10th. Finally, UBS Group boosted their price target on Quest Diagnostics from $210.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Seven investment 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 a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $216.58.
Quest Diagnostics Stock Down 0.8%
NYSE DGX opened at $186.52 on Friday. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $195.72 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $189.92. 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 Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $164.65 and a fifty-two week high of $213.50. The stock has a market capitalization of $20.65 billion, a PE ratio of 20.61, a PEG ratio of 2.24 and a beta of 0.60.
Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX – Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 21st. The medical research company reported $2.50 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.37 by $0.13. Quest Diagnostics had a return on equity of 15.60% and a net margin of 9.07%.The company had revenue of $2.90 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.83 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.94 EPS. 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. Equities analysts expect that Quest Diagnostics Incorporated will post 10.72 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.
Quest Diagnostics declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback program on Tuesday, February 10th that authorizes the company to buyback $1.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the medical research company to repurchase up to 4.7% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are often an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.
Insider Buying and Selling
In related news, SVP Karthik Kuppusamy sold 2,628 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $204.86, for a total transaction of $538,372.08. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 13,441 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,753,523.26. This trade represents a 16.35% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, SVP Patrick Plewman sold 2,855 shares of the firm’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 $588,729.55. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 15,198 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,133,979.58. This represents a 15.81% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 18,421 shares of company stock valued at $3,790,214. Company insiders own 0.88% of the company’s stock.
Key Stories Impacting Quest Diagnostics
Here are the key news stories impacting Quest Diagnostics this week:
- Positive Sentiment: Zacks Research raised FY2026, FY2027, and Q3 2027 EPS estimates for Quest Diagnostics, signaling improved earnings expectations.
- Positive Sentiment: Barron’s highlighted Quest Diagnostics as one of the stocks potentially rebounding after a rough patch, which may support investor interest. Quest Diagnostics, Altria, and 12 More Stocks That Are Coming Back to Life After a Rough Patch
- Neutral Sentiment: A new valuation-focused article examined Quest Diagnostics’ investment narrative, but it did not include a direct corporate catalyst. How The Investment Narrative For Quest Diagnostics (DGX) Is Shifting With New Valuation Work
- Negative Sentiment: Zacks Research cut estimates for Q2 2026, Q2 2027, Q1 2028, and FY2028 EPS, which could pressure sentiment if investors focus on slower longer-term earnings growth.
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.
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