Quest Diagnostics Incorporated $DGX Stock Position Increased by 8 Knots Management LLC

8 Knots Management LLC grew its position in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) by 56.0% during the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 275,344 shares of the medical research company’s stock after purchasing an additional 98,806 shares during the period. Quest Diagnostics makes up 5.9% of 8 Knots Management LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 7th largest position. 8 Knots Management LLC owned approximately 0.25% of Quest Diagnostics worth $52,475,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in Quest Diagnostics by 2.1% during the 2nd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 14,233,576 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $2,556,777,000 after buying an additional 296,860 shares during the last quarter. Boston Partners increased its stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 32.8% in the third quarter. Boston Partners now owns 4,036,881 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $767,978,000 after acquiring an additional 997,033 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 7.5% in the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,982,415 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $533,563,000 after acquiring an additional 208,261 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its holdings in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 0.3% during the third quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,907,510 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $363,509,000 after purchasing an additional 6,155 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. lifted its position in Quest Diagnostics by 1.8% during the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,688,769 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $321,846,000 after purchasing an additional 30,418 shares during the period. 88.06% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Quest Diagnostics news, SVP Karthik Kuppusamy sold 2,628 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $204.86, for a total value of $538,372.08. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 13,441 shares in the company, valued at $2,753,523.26. This represents a 16.35% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, SVP Michael E. Prevoznik sold 3,878 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $206.21, for a total value of $799,682.38. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 37,557 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,744,628.97. This trade represents a 9.36% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last three months, insiders sold 24,083 shares of company stock worth $4,945,262. 8.16% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Quest Diagnostics Stock Performance

NYSE:DGX opened at $199.61 on Friday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $194.29 and its 200-day moving average price is $186.44. The company has a current ratio of 1.04, a quick ratio of 0.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72. The company has a market cap of $21.93 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.81, a P/E/G ratio of 2.58 and a beta of 0.66. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a twelve month low of $157.20 and a twelve month high of $213.50.

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

Quest Diagnostics declared that its Board of Directors has approved a stock buyback plan on Tuesday, February 10th that allows the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the medical research company to buy up to 4.7% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are generally an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Quest Diagnostics Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 20th. Investors of record on Monday, April 6th will be given a dividend of $0.86 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, April 6th. This is a positive change from Quest Diagnostics’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.80. This represents a $3.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.7%. Quest Diagnostics’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 39.31%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have commented on the stock. Evercore set a $220.00 price target on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a report on Wednesday, February 11th. Robert W. Baird set a $219.00 price objective on Quest Diagnostics in a research note on Wednesday, February 11th. Truist Financial boosted their price objective on Quest Diagnostics from $205.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 11th. Citigroup upped their target price on Quest Diagnostics from $190.00 to $215.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 10th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a report on Monday, December 29th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $210.29.

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.