Hsbc Holdings PLC Has $39.49 Million Stake in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated $DGX

Hsbc Holdings PLC raised its stake in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) by 6.8% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 227,107 shares of the medical research company’s stock after purchasing an additional 14,361 shares during the quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC’s holdings in Quest Diagnostics were worth $39,488,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Quattro Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Quest Diagnostics during the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. JFS Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its position in Quest Diagnostics by 114.3% in the fourth quarter. JFS Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 150 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 80 shares in the last quarter. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC boosted its position in Quest Diagnostics by 113.7% in the fourth quarter. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC now owns 156 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 83 shares in the last quarter. DV Equities LLC bought a new stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics during the fourth quarter worth $27,000. Finally, Sittner & Nelson LLC bought a new stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics during the fourth quarter worth $29,000. 88.06% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

DGX has been the subject of a number of research reports. UBS Group increased their price target 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 boosted their price objective on Quest Diagnostics from $224.00 to $229.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Barclays upped their target price on Quest Diagnostics from $225.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $225.00 target price on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a research report on Tuesday, April 21st. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised Quest Diagnostics from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $216.58.

Insider Activity

In related news, SVP Karthik Kuppusamy sold 8,147 shares of Quest Diagnostics stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $200.00, for a total value of $1,629,400.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 13,510 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,702,000. The trade was a 37.62% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO J. E. Davis sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 132,423 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $25,708,601.22. This represents a 7.02% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Corporate insiders own 0.88% of the company’s stock.

Quest Diagnostics Price Performance

DGX stock opened at $196.92 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $21.80 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.76, a PEG ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 0.59. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $195.00 and a 200-day moving average price of $192.37. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67, a quick ratio of 1.08 and a current ratio of 1.18. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a 52-week low of $164.65 and a 52-week high of $213.50.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 21st. The medical research company reported $2.50 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.37 by $0.13. The business had revenue of $2.90 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.83 billion. Quest Diagnostics had a return on equity of 15.60% and a net margin of 9.07%.Quest Diagnostics’s quarterly revenue was up 9.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.94 earnings per share. Quest Diagnostics has set its FY 2026 guidance at 10.630-10.830 EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that Quest Diagnostics Incorporated will post 10.72 EPS for the current year.

Quest Diagnostics Announces Dividend

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 paid a $0.86 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, July 8th. This represents a $3.44 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.7%. Quest Diagnostics’s dividend payout ratio is presently 38.01%.

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.