Assenagon Asset Management S.A. Buys 19,361 Shares of Quest Diagnostics Incorporated $DGX

Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its stake in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) by 346.5% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 24,949 shares of the medical research company’s stock after acquiring an additional 19,361 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A.’s holdings in Quest Diagnostics were worth $4,329,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Brighton Jones LLC bought a new position in shares of Quest Diagnostics in the fourth quarter worth $323,000. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. lifted its position in Quest Diagnostics by 6.7% during the second quarter. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. now owns 1,841 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $331,000 after purchasing an additional 115 shares during the period. Russell Investments Group Ltd. lifted its position in Quest Diagnostics by 40.8% during the second quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 88,848 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $15,936,000 after purchasing an additional 25,768 shares during the period. Choreo LLC grew its stake in Quest Diagnostics by 27.3% during the second quarter. Choreo LLC now owns 2,115 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $380,000 after buying an additional 453 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Korea Investment CORP grew its stake in Quest Diagnostics by 37.9% during the second quarter. Korea Investment CORP now owns 44,729 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $8,035,000 after buying an additional 12,300 shares in the last quarter. 88.06% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. Evercore set a $220.00 target price on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a research report on Wednesday, February 11th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Quest Diagnostics from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Sunday, March 15th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price objective on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $215.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 10th. Mizuho boosted their price objective on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $210.00 to $235.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 12th. Finally, UBS Group upped their target price on Quest Diagnostics from $190.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 11th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Quest Diagnostics presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $210.29.

Quest Diagnostics Stock Up 0.0%

Shares of DGX opened at $195.59 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72, a quick ratio of 0.96 and a current ratio of 1.04. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a 52 week low of $157.20 and a 52 week high of $213.50. The stock has a market capitalization of $21.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.35, a PEG ratio of 2.52 and a beta of 0.66. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $197.44 and a 200-day moving average of $187.57.

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, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.35 by $0.07. The business had revenue of $2.81 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.75 billion. Quest Diagnostics had a return on equity of 15.57% and a net margin of 8.99%.The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.23 EPS. Quest Diagnostics has set its FY 2026 guidance at 9.45-9.650 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Quest Diagnostics Incorporated will post 9.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Quest Diagnostics Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 20th. Stockholders of record on Monday, April 6th will be paid a $0.86 dividend. This is an increase from Quest Diagnostics’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.80. This represents a $3.44 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, April 6th. Quest Diagnostics’s payout ratio is currently 39.31%.

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Quest Diagnostics

In related news, SVP Michael E. Prevoznik sold 3,878 shares of Quest Diagnostics 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 $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 trade represents a 9.36% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, SVP Karthik Kuppusamy sold 2,628 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $204.86, for a total transaction of $538,372.08. Following the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 13,441 shares in the company, valued at $2,753,523.26. The trade was a 16.35% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold 24,083 shares of company stock worth $4,945,262 in the last 90 days. Corporate 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.