5,900 Shares in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated $DGX Purchased by Capital Management Associates Inc

Capital Management Associates Inc acquired a new stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor acquired 5,900 shares of the medical research company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,024,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of DGX. JFS Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 114.3% in the fourth quarter. JFS Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 150 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 80 shares in the last quarter. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC boosted its stake in Quest Diagnostics by 113.7% during the fourth quarter. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC now owns 156 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 83 shares during the last quarter. True Wealth Design LLC boosted its stake in Quest Diagnostics by 369.7% during the third quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 155 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 122 shares during the last quarter. First Horizon Corp purchased a new stake in Quest Diagnostics in the 3rd quarter valued at $33,000. Finally, Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd purchased a new stake in Quest Diagnostics in the 3rd quarter valued at $33,000. 88.06% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Evercore set a $220.00 price target on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a research report on Wednesday, February 11th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their target price on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $215.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 10th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Quest Diagnostics from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Sunday, March 15th. Barclays raised their price target on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $210.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 11th. Finally, UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $190.00 to $210.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 11th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Quest Diagnostics has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $211.46.

Quest Diagnostics Price Performance

Quest Diagnostics stock opened at $197.97 on Monday. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $198.66 and its 200-day simple moving average is $188.12. 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 1 year low of $157.20 and a 1 year high of $213.50. The company has a market capitalization of $21.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.63, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 0.66.

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

Quest Diagnostics Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 20th. Investors of record on Monday, April 6th will be paid a dividend of $0.86 per share. This represents a $3.44 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, April 6th. This is a positive change from Quest Diagnostics’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.80. Quest Diagnostics’s dividend payout ratio is currently 36.57%.

Quest Diagnostics announced that its board has authorized a share repurchase program on Tuesday, February 10th that authorizes the company to buyback $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the medical research company to reacquire up to 4.7% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are typically a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Transactions at Quest Diagnostics

In other news, SVP Patrick Plewman sold 5,662 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $204.00, for a total value of $1,155,048.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president owned 15,381 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,137,724. This trade represents a 26.91% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, 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 completion of the transaction, the senior vice president owned 37,557 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,744,628.97. This trade represents a 9.36% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 24,083 shares of company stock valued at $4,945,262. 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.