Persistent Asset Partners Ltd Has $2.30 Million Position in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated $DGX

Persistent Asset Partners Ltd boosted its position in shares of Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) by 50.9% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 12,081 shares of the medical research company’s stock after buying an additional 4,074 shares during the quarter. Quest Diagnostics makes up approximately 1.6% of Persistent Asset Partners Ltd’s holdings, making the stock its 14th largest holding. Persistent Asset Partners Ltd’s holdings in Quest Diagnostics were worth $2,302,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Lebenthal Global Advisors LLC lifted its position in Quest Diagnostics by 117.5% in the 3rd quarter. Lebenthal Global Advisors LLC now owns 5,034 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $959,000 after acquiring an additional 2,720 shares in the last quarter. Rakuten Investment Management Inc. bought a new position in Quest Diagnostics in the third quarter valued at approximately $4,713,000. Pacer Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in Quest Diagnostics by 2,531.6% during the third quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 450,898 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $85,932,000 after buying an additional 433,764 shares during the last quarter. TKG Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 125.1% in the 3rd quarter. TKG Advisors LLC now owns 14,596 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $2,782,000 after purchasing an additional 8,112 shares during the period. Finally, Nuance Investments LLC bought a new stake in Quest Diagnostics in the third quarter valued at approximately $5,757,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 88.06% of the company’s stock.

Quest Diagnostics Trading Down 1.0%

Shares of DGX stock opened at $202.44 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72, a quick ratio of 0.96 and a current ratio of 1.04. The company has a market capitalization of $22.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.14, a PEG ratio of 2.64 and a beta of 0.66. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $185.18 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $183.41. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a 52-week low of $157.20 and a 52-week high of $213.20.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, February 10th. The medical research company reported $2.42 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.35 by $0.07. The business had revenue of $2.81 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.75 billion. Quest Diagnostics had a return on equity of 15.57% and a net margin of 8.99%.The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $2.23 earnings per share. Quest Diagnostics has set its FY 2026 guidance at 9.45-9.650 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that Quest Diagnostics Incorporated will post 9.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Quest Diagnostics announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase 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 leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Quest Diagnostics Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 20th. Stockholders of record on Monday, April 6th will be issued a $0.86 dividend. This represents a $3.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, April 6th. This is a positive change from Quest Diagnostics’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.80. Quest Diagnostics’s payout ratio is currently 36.57%.

Insider Activity at Quest Diagnostics

In related news, SVP Patrick Plewman sold 5,662 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $204.00, for a total transaction of $1,155,048.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 15,381 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,137,724. This trade represents a 26.91% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO J. E. Davis sold 55,093 shares of Quest Diagnostics stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $192.22, for a total transaction of $10,589,976.46. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 120,480 shares in the company, valued at approximately $23,158,665.60. The trade was a 31.38% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold a total of 62,005 shares of company stock valued at $11,984,724 over the last 90 days. 8.16% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Citigroup increased their price objective on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $190.00 to $215.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 10th. Barclays boosted their price target on Quest Diagnostics from $210.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 11th. Mizuho raised their target price on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $210.00 to $235.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 12th. Finally, Truist Financial upped their price objective on Quest Diagnostics from $205.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 11th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $210.29.

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.