Rice Partnership LLC Boosts Stock Holdings in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated $DGX

Rice Partnership LLC increased its position in shares of Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) by 12.3% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 24,524 shares of the medical research company’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,684 shares during the period. Rice Partnership LLC’s holdings in Quest Diagnostics were worth $4,256,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Dynasty Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in Quest Diagnostics by 4.2% during the fourth quarter. Dynasty Wealth Management LLC now owns 10,159 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $1,763,000 after purchasing an additional 411 shares in the last quarter. AXQ Capital LP raised its holdings in Quest Diagnostics by 23.5% during the fourth quarter. AXQ Capital LP now owns 2,550 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $443,000 after purchasing an additional 485 shares in the last quarter. Crestmont Private Wealth LLC raised its holdings in Quest Diagnostics by 5.2% during the fourth quarter. Crestmont Private Wealth LLC now owns 4,607 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $799,000 after purchasing an additional 229 shares in the last quarter. New Mexico Educational Retirement Board raised its holdings in Quest Diagnostics by 2.0% during the fourth quarter. New Mexico Educational Retirement Board now owns 5,103 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $886,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Waterloo Capital L.P. raised its holdings in Quest Diagnostics by 2.1% during the fourth quarter. Waterloo Capital L.P. now owns 26,330 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $4,569,000 after purchasing an additional 551 shares in the last quarter. 88.06% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Quest Diagnostics Stock Up 0.4%

DGX stock opened at $192.93 on Wednesday. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $194.42 and its 200-day simple moving average is $191.11. The firm has a market capitalization of $21.36 billion, a PE ratio of 21.32, a P/E/G ratio of 2.29 and a beta of 0.59. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a 12 month low of $164.65 and a 12 month high of $213.50. 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 (NYSE:DGX) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 21st. The medical research company reported $2.50 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.37 by $0.13. The business had revenue of $2.90 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.83 billion. Quest Diagnostics had a net margin of 9.07% and a return on equity of 15.60%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 9.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.94 earnings per share. 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 Announces Dividend

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

Quest Diagnostics declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase plan on Tuesday, February 10th that permits the company to buyback $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the medical research company to reacquire up to 4.7% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are typically a sign that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently issued reports on DGX. Evercore set a $225.00 price target on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a report on Tuesday, April 21st. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a “buy” rating and set a $225.00 price target on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a report on Tuesday, April 21st. UBS Group upped their target price on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $210.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 22nd. 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 report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Finally, Mizuho upped their target price on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $210.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 12th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $216.58.

Insider Buying and Selling at Quest Diagnostics

In other news, SVP Michael E. Prevoznik sold 3,878 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $206.21, for a total value of $799,682.38. Following the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 37,557 shares in the company, valued at $7,744,628.97. This represents a 9.36% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Catherine T. Doherty sold 5,558 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $206.21, for a total transaction of $1,146,115.18. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 67,122 shares in the company, valued at $13,841,227.62. This represents a 7.65% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold 22,291 shares of company stock valued at $4,475,927 over the last three months. Company insiders own 0.88% of the company’s stock.

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.