ABN Amro Investment Solutions Trims Holdings in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated $DGX

ABN Amro Investment Solutions trimmed its stake in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) by 10.5% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 72,262 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 8,519 shares during the period. ABN Amro Investment Solutions’ holdings in Quest Diagnostics were worth $12,540,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in DGX. JFS Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in Quest Diagnostics by 114.3% during the 4th 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 during the period. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC increased its stake in Quest Diagnostics by 113.7% during the 4th 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. McIlrath & Eck LLC purchased a new stake in Quest Diagnostics during the 4th quarter worth approximately $32,000. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd purchased a new stake in Quest Diagnostics during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $33,000. Finally, ORG Partners LLC increased its stake in Quest Diagnostics by 66.1% during the 4th quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 211 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $37,000 after buying an additional 84 shares during the period. 88.06% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Quest Diagnostics

In other news, EVP Catherine T. Doherty sold 5,558 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $206.21, for a total value of $1,146,115.18. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 67,122 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,841,227.62. This represents a 7.65% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, SVP Patrick Plewman sold 2,855 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on 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 owned 15,198 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,133,979.58. The trade was a 15.81% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 14,919 shares of company stock worth $3,072,899. Corporate insiders own 0.88% of the company’s stock.

Quest Diagnostics Trading Up 2.0%

NYSE DGX opened at $194.13 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.08, a current ratio of 1.18 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a 52 week low of $164.65 and a 52 week high of $213.50. The stock has a market capitalization of $21.49 billion, a PE ratio of 21.45, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.27 and a beta of 0.60. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $195.10 and a two-hundred day moving average of $190.30.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 21st. The medical research company reported $2.50 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.83 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.94 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 9.2% on a year-over-year basis. Quest Diagnostics has set its FY 2026 guidance at 10.630-10.830 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that Quest Diagnostics Incorporated will post 10.72 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Quest Diagnostics declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase plan on Tuesday, February 10th that authorizes the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the medical research company to buy up to 4.7% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are often an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Quest Diagnostics Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 22nd. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, July 8th will be issued a dividend of $0.86 per share. This represents a $3.44 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.8%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, July 8th. Quest Diagnostics’s payout ratio is 38.01%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $225.00 target price on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a research note on Tuesday, April 21st. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Quest Diagnostics from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, April 25th. Barclays upped their target price on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $225.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 22nd. Citigroup upped their target price 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. Finally, Truist Financial upped their target price on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $220.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 22nd. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $216.58.

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.