Bahl & Gaynor Inc. Decreases Stock Position in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated $DGX

Bahl & Gaynor Inc. decreased its position in shares of Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) by 22.9% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 216,704 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 64,335 shares during the period. Bahl & Gaynor Inc. owned approximately 0.19% of Quest Diagnostics worth $41,299,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in DGX. Rafferty Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in Quest Diagnostics by 5.2% during the 3rd quarter. Rafferty Asset Management LLC now owns 12,416 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $2,366,000 after buying an additional 613 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 9.4% in the third quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 869,085 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $165,631,000 after purchasing an additional 74,796 shares in the last quarter. Huntington National Bank increased its position in Quest Diagnostics by 4.1% in the third quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 5,951 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $1,134,000 after purchasing an additional 237 shares during the last quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB increased its position in Quest Diagnostics by 8.1% in the third quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 37,409 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $7,129,000 after purchasing an additional 2,811 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Choreo LLC raised its stake in Quest Diagnostics by 46.7% during the third quarter. Choreo LLC now owns 3,102 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $591,000 after purchasing an additional 987 shares in the last quarter. 88.06% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Quest Diagnostics Stock Performance

Shares of Quest Diagnostics stock opened at $211.75 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.96, a current ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $188.64 and its two-hundred day moving average is $184.89. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a 52 week low of $157.20 and a 52 week high of $213.50. The company 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 earnings results on Tuesday, February 10th. The medical research company reported $2.42 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.35 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $2.81 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.75 billion. Quest Diagnostics had a net margin of 8.99% and a return on equity of 15.57%. The business’s revenue was up 7.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $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 earnings per share for the current year.

Quest Diagnostics Increases Dividend

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

Quest Diagnostics declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback program on Tuesday, February 10th that allows the company to buyback $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the medical research company to repurchase up to 4.7% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are generally an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on DGX. Robert W. Baird set a $219.00 target price on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a report on Wednesday, February 11th. Wall Street Zen lowered Quest Diagnostics from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Sunday, February 22nd. Truist Financial upped their price objective on Quest Diagnostics from $205.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 11th. Citigroup raised their price objective on Quest Diagnostics from $190.00 to $215.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 10th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $210.29.

Insider Activity at Quest Diagnostics

In related news, SVP Michael E. Prevoznik sold 1,111 shares of the 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $7,859,531.93. This represents a 2.81% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, SVP Patrick Plewman sold 958 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $204.83, for a total value of $196,227.14. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 15,838 shares in the company, valued at $3,244,097.54. The trade was a 5.70% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 9,164 shares of company stock worth $1,872,363. Company insiders own 8.16% of the company’s stock.

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.