First Trust Advisors LP Sells 22,557 Shares of Quest Diagnostics Incorporated $DGX

First Trust Advisors LP cut its holdings in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) by 6.4% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 329,152 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 22,557 shares during the quarter. First Trust Advisors LP owned about 0.30% of Quest Diagnostics worth $64,507,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. ABN Amro Investment Solutions lifted its stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 5.7% in the 1st quarter. ABN Amro Investment Solutions now owns 76,360 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $14,965,000 after purchasing an additional 4,098 shares during the last quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Quest Diagnostics by 4.0% in the first quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 38,198 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $7,486,000 after purchasing an additional 1,457 shares in the last quarter. Oslo Pensjonsforsikring AS acquired a new position in Quest Diagnostics during the first quarter worth $107,000. Rice Partnership LLC increased its position in Quest Diagnostics by 1.0% during the first quarter. Rice Partnership LLC now owns 24,758 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $4,852,000 after buying an additional 234 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Commerzbank Aktiengesellschaft FI raised its holdings in Quest Diagnostics by 121.3% during the first quarter. Commerzbank Aktiengesellschaft FI now owns 6,686 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $1,310,000 after buying an additional 3,665 shares in the last quarter. 88.06% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Key Stories Impacting Quest Diagnostics

Here are the key news stories impacting Quest Diagnostics this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Quest Diagnostics posted Q2 results that beat Wall Street expectations on both revenue and earnings, helped by stronger demand for routine diagnostic and preventive testing. The company also raised its full-year 2026 outlook, which investors are reading as evidence that growth is holding up well. Article: Quest Diagnostics Reports Second Quarter 2026 Financial Results; Raises Revenue and EPS Guidance for Full Year 2026
• Positive Sentiment: Mizuho raised its price target on DGX to $260 and kept an outperform rating, signaling confidence that the company can still outperform from here. Article: Quest Diagnostics price target raised by Mizuho
• Positive Sentiment: Truist also lifted its target to $250, while Robert W. Baird increased its target to $255, reflecting continued analyst optimism after the earnings beat and raised guidance. Article: Quest Diagnostics price target raised by Truist Financial Corporation
• Neutral Sentiment: Several market commentary pieces highlighted DGX as a momentum stock and noted the shares recently reached a 52-week high. That supports bullish sentiment, but these articles are mostly follow-up coverage rather than a new fundamental catalyst. Article: Are You Looking for a Top Momentum Pick? Why Quest Diagnostics (DGX) Is a Great Choice

Insider Activity at Quest Diagnostics

In other news, SVP Karthik Kuppusamy sold 8,147 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $200.00, for a total transaction of $1,629,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 13,510 shares in the company, valued at $2,702,000. The trade was a 37.62% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO J. E. Davis sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $194.14, for a total value of $1,941,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 132,423 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $25,708,601.22. This represents a 7.02% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders own 0.88% of the company’s stock.

Quest Diagnostics Stock Up 0.1%

DGX stock opened at $228.05 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72, a current ratio of 1.59 and a quick ratio of 1.08. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a 52-week low of $165.78 and a 52-week high of $237.78. The company has a 50-day moving average of $203.23 and a two-hundred day moving average of $197.59. The stock has a market capitalization of $25.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.21, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.61 and a beta of 0.58.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 23rd. The medical research company reported $3.12 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.82 by $0.30. Quest Diagnostics had a return on equity of 16.01% and a net margin of 9.18%.The company had revenue of $3.04 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.97 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $2.62 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 10.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Quest Diagnostics has set its FY 2026 guidance at 11.050-11.250 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Quest Diagnostics Incorporated will post 11.17 EPS for the current year.

Quest Diagnostics Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 22nd. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, July 8th were given a $0.86 dividend. This represents a $3.44 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, July 8th. Quest Diagnostics’s payout ratio is currently 36.52%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

DGX has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Mizuho upped their price target on Quest Diagnostics from $235.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $245.00 price objective on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a research note on Thursday. Robert W. Baird boosted their target price on Quest Diagnostics from $236.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday. Weiss Ratings raised Quest Diagnostics from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b+)” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 9th. Finally, Evercore set a $225.00 price target on Quest Diagnostics in a report on Tuesday, April 21st. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Quest Diagnostics presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $231.73.

About Quest Diagnostics

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.