Royal Bank of Canada Has $38.91 Million Position in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated $DGX

Royal Bank of Canada lessened its holdings in shares of Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) by 13.2% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 198,534 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 30,197 shares during the period. Royal Bank of Canada owned 0.18% of Quest Diagnostics worth $38,909,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in Quest Diagnostics by 1.0% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 14,392,082 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $2,497,458,000 after acquiring an additional 140,450 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp lifted its position in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 3.0% during the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 5,382,547 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $934,033,000 after purchasing an additional 158,617 shares in the last quarter. Boston Partners grew its stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 32.8% during the third quarter. Boston Partners now owns 4,036,881 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $767,978,000 after purchasing an additional 997,033 shares during the last quarter. Morgan Stanley grew its stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 17.8% during the fourth quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 2,693,568 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $467,415,000 after purchasing an additional 406,658 shares during the last quarter. Finally, EdgePoint Investment Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 35.1% in the first quarter. EdgePoint Investment Group Inc. now owns 2,243,869 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $439,753,000 after purchasing an additional 582,797 shares in the last quarter. 88.06% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Quest Diagnostics Stock Down 0.5%

Shares of Quest Diagnostics stock opened at $231.95 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.46, a current ratio of 1.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a 12 month low of $170.53 and a 12 month high of $240.13. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $208.10 and a 200 day simple moving average of $200.12. The stock has a market cap of $25.60 billion, a PE ratio of 24.62, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.15 and a beta of 0.56.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) last released its earnings results on Thursday, July 23rd. The medical research company reported $3.12 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.82 by $0.30. Quest Diagnostics had a return on equity of 16.01% and a net margin of 9.18%.The firm had revenue of $3.04 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.97 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.62 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 10.2% on a year-over-year basis. Quest Diagnostics has set its FY 2026 guidance at 11.050-11.250 EPS. Research analysts predict that Quest Diagnostics Incorporated will post 11.15 EPS for the current year.

Quest Diagnostics Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 22nd. Investors of record on Wednesday, July 8th were paid a dividend of $0.86 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, July 8th. This represents a $3.44 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.5%. Quest Diagnostics’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 36.52%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

DGX has been the topic of several research reports. Barclays upped their price target on Quest Diagnostics from $230.00 to $250.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 23rd. Wall Street Zen upgraded Quest Diagnostics from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 28th. Argus set a $260.00 target price on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a research report on Wednesday, July 29th. Jefferies Financial Group restated a “buy” rating and set a $245.00 target price on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a research report on Thursday, July 23rd. Finally, UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $220.00 to $232.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, July 24th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Quest Diagnostics currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $235.31.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP Mark E. Delaney sold 1,600 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $235.18, for a total transaction of $376,288.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president owned 10,335 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,430,585.30. The trade was a 13.41% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 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 on Monday, June 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $194.14, for a total transaction of $1,941,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 132,423 shares in the company, valued at approximately $25,708,601.22. This trade represents a 7.02% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold 19,747 shares of company stock valued at $3,947,088 in the last 90 days. 0.88% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.