Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. Decreases Position in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated $DGX

Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. lowered its stake in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) by 4.5% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 264,754 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 12,429 shares during the quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc.’s holdings in Quest Diagnostics were worth $51,886,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of DGX. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Quest Diagnostics during the 4th quarter worth approximately $229,522,000. Boston Partners grew its position in Quest Diagnostics by 32.8% in the third quarter. Boston Partners now owns 4,036,881 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $767,978,000 after acquiring an additional 997,033 shares in the last quarter. EdgePoint Investment Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 66,757.0% during the third quarter. EdgePoint Investment Group Inc. now owns 849,752 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $161,946,000 after purchasing an additional 848,481 shares during the period. UBS Group AG lifted its position in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 67.8% during the fourth quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 1,114,451 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $193,391,000 after purchasing an additional 450,161 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE lifted its holdings in Quest Diagnostics by 36.3% in the 2nd quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 1,599,602 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $287,337,000 after buying an additional 426,399 shares in the last quarter. 88.06% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Quest Diagnostics Stock Up 0.1%

DGX opened at $207.60 on Monday. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a 12 month low of $164.65 and a 12 month high of $219.20. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67, a current ratio of 1.18 and a quick ratio of 1.08. The stock has a market cap of $22.98 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.94, a P/E/G ratio of 2.47 and a beta of 0.58. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $198.87 and its 200 day moving average price is $195.17.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, April 21st. The medical research company reported $2.50 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.37 by $0.13. Quest Diagnostics had a return on equity of 15.60% and a net margin of 9.07%.The firm had revenue of $2.90 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.83 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.94 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter 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 predict that Quest Diagnostics Incorporated will post 10.72 earnings per share for the current year.

Quest Diagnostics Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 22nd. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, July 8th will be paid a dividend of $0.86 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, July 8th. This represents a $3.44 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.7%. Quest Diagnostics’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 38.01%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have issued reports on DGX. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $225.00 target price on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a report on Tuesday, April 21st. Weiss Ratings upgraded Quest Diagnostics from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b+)” rating in a research report on Thursday. UBS Group raised their price target on Quest Diagnostics from $210.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Truist Financial upped their price objective on Quest Diagnostics from $220.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 22nd. Finally, Robert W. Baird increased their target price on Quest Diagnostics from $224.00 to $229.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $216.58.

Insider Activity

In other Quest Diagnostics news, SVP Karthik Kuppusamy sold 8,147 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $200.00, for a total transaction of $1,629,400.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 13,510 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,702,000. The trade was a 37.62% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing 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 business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the chief executive officer owned 132,423 shares in the company, valued at $25,708,601.22. This trade represents a 7.02% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. 0.88% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Quest Diagnostics 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.