Citigroup Inc. Acquires 25,666 Shares of Quest Diagnostics Incorporated $DGX

Citigroup Inc. grew its holdings in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) by 8.7% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 319,354 shares of the medical research company’s stock after buying an additional 25,666 shares during the quarter. Citigroup Inc. owned 0.29% of Quest Diagnostics worth $60,862,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Lebenthal Global Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 117.5% during the third quarter. Lebenthal Global Advisors LLC now owns 5,034 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $959,000 after acquiring an additional 2,720 shares during the period. Rakuten Investment Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics during the 3rd quarter worth about $4,713,000. Pacer Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in Quest Diagnostics by 2,531.6% during the 3rd quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 450,898 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $85,932,000 after purchasing an additional 433,764 shares during the last quarter. TKG Advisors LLC boosted its position in Quest Diagnostics by 125.1% in the third quarter. TKG Advisors LLC now owns 14,596 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $2,782,000 after buying an additional 8,112 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Nuance Investments LLC acquired a new position in Quest Diagnostics in the third quarter valued at about $5,757,000. 88.06% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at Quest Diagnostics

In other Quest Diagnostics news, EVP Catherine T. Doherty sold 1,433 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $204.83, for a total value of $293,521.39. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 68,402 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $14,010,781.66. This represents a 2.05% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, SVP Patrick Plewman sold 958 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 approximately $3,244,097.54. This trade represents a 5.70% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 9,164 shares of company stock worth $1,872,363. Insiders own 8.16% of the company’s stock.

Quest Diagnostics Trading Up 2.4%

Shares of DGX opened at $207.22 on Tuesday. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $186.04 and its 200-day simple moving average is $183.99. The firm has a market capitalization of $23.05 billion, a PE ratio of 23.68, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.61 and a beta of 0.66. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a 12-month low of $157.20 and a 12-month high of $213.20. The company has a quick ratio of 0.96, a current ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72.

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

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

Quest Diagnostics Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 20th. Shareholders of record on Monday, April 6th will be issued a dividend of $0.86 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, April 6th. This represents a $3.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.7%. This is a boost from Quest Diagnostics’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.80. Quest Diagnostics’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 36.57%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Piper Sandler lifted their target price on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $190.00 to $200.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, October 27th. Mizuho raised their price target on Quest Diagnostics from $210.00 to $235.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, February 12th. Evercore set a $220.00 price objective on Quest Diagnostics in a research note on Wednesday, February 11th. Truist Financial increased their target price on Quest Diagnostics from $205.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 11th. Finally, Robert W. Baird set a $219.00 price target on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a research report on Wednesday, February 11th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $210.29.

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.