APG Asset Management N.V. Cuts Position in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated $DGX

APG Asset Management N.V. reduced its holdings in shares of Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) by 5.3% during the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 212,972 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 11,896 shares during the period. APG Asset Management N.V. owned about 0.19% of Quest Diagnostics worth $40,588,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Brighton Jones LLC bought a new position in shares of Quest Diagnostics during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $323,000. AlphaQuest LLC boosted its holdings in Quest Diagnostics by 18,400.0% in the second quarter. AlphaQuest LLC now owns 185 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 184 shares in the last quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas grew its position in Quest Diagnostics by 3.9% during the 2nd quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas now owns 16,949 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $3,045,000 after purchasing an additional 634 shares during the last quarter. World Investment Advisors grew its holdings in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 2.7% during the second quarter. World Investment Advisors now owns 2,623 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $471,000 after buying an additional 68 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Hantz Financial Services Inc. purchased a new stake in Quest Diagnostics during the 2nd quarter valued at $84,000. 88.06% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have commented on DGX. Robert W. Baird set a $219.00 target price on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a research report on Wednesday, February 11th. Citigroup raised 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. Evercore set a $220.00 price objective on Quest Diagnostics in a research note on Wednesday, February 11th. Barclays upped their target price on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $210.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 11th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised their price target on Quest Diagnostics from $215.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 10th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $210.29.

Quest Diagnostics Stock Up 0.3%

Shares of NYSE DGX opened at $211.75 on Monday. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $188.64 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $184.89. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a 12-month low of $157.20 and a 12-month high of $213.50. The company has a current ratio of 1.04, a quick ratio of 0.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72. The stock has a market capitalization of $23.26 billion, a PE ratio of 24.20, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.74 and a beta of 0.65.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 10th. The medical research company reported $2.42 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.35 by $0.07. The business had revenue of $2.81 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.75 billion. Quest Diagnostics had a return on equity of 15.57% and a net margin of 8.99%.The business’s quarterly revenue was up 7.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.23 earnings per share. Quest Diagnostics has set its FY 2026 guidance at 9.45-9.650 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that Quest Diagnostics Incorporated will post 9.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Quest Diagnostics Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 20th. Investors of record on Monday, April 6th will be given a dividend of $0.86 per share. This is an increase from Quest Diagnostics’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.80. This represents a $3.44 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.6%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, April 6th. Quest Diagnostics’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 36.57%.

Quest Diagnostics announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a share repurchase plan on Tuesday, February 10th that authorizes the company to buyback $1.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the medical research company to repurchase up to 4.7% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are typically an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Activity at Quest Diagnostics

In other news, SVP Michael E. Prevoznik sold 1,111 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $204.83, for a total value of $227,566.13. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 38,371 shares in the company, valued at $7,859,531.93. This trade represents a 2.81% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Catherine T. Doherty sold 1,433 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $204.83, for a total transaction of $293,521.39. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 68,402 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $14,010,781.66. The trade was a 2.05% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold a total of 9,164 shares of company stock worth $1,872,363 in the last three months. Company insiders own 8.16% 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.