Danica Pension Livsforsikringsaktieselskab Buys Shares of 70,846 Quest Diagnostics Incorporated $DGX

Danica Pension Livsforsikringsaktieselskab purchased a new position in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) in the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor purchased 70,846 shares of the medical research company’s stock, valued at approximately $13,502,000. Danica Pension Livsforsikringsaktieselskab owned 0.06% of Quest Diagnostics at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in DGX. MTM Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in Quest Diagnostics during the second quarter worth approximately $29,000. True Wealth Design LLC increased its position in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 369.7% during the 3rd quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 155 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 122 shares during the period. First Horizon Corp acquired a new position in shares of Quest Diagnostics during the 3rd quarter valued at $33,000. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics in the 3rd quarter worth $33,000. Finally, Rexford Capital Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics in the second quarter valued at $36,000. 88.06% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts recently weighed in on DGX shares. Wall Street Zen cut Quest Diagnostics from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Sunday. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a report on Monday, December 29th. UBS Group raised their price objective 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. Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $210.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 11th. Finally, Citigroup increased their target price on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $190.00 to $215.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 10th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $210.29.

Quest Diagnostics Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:DGX opened at $198.53 on Wednesday. The company’s fifty day moving average is $195.16 and its two-hundred day moving average is $186.74. 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 Incorporated has a 12-month low of $157.20 and a 12-month high of $213.50. The company has a market cap of $21.81 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.69, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 0.65.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, February 10th. The medical research company reported $2.42 EPS 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 business had revenue of $2.81 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.75 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.23 earnings per share. Quest Diagnostics’s 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. Equities analysts expect that Quest Diagnostics Incorporated will post 9.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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 paid a dividend of $0.86 per share. This is a boost from Quest Diagnostics’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.80. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, April 6th. This represents a $3.44 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.7%. Quest Diagnostics’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 39.31%.

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Quest Diagnostics news, SVP Patrick Plewman sold 5,662 shares of the company’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 transaction, the senior vice president owned 15,381 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,137,724. This represents a 26.91% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, SVP Karthik Kuppusamy sold 2,628 shares of the 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 completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 13,441 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,753,523.26. The trade was a 16.35% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold 24,083 shares of company stock worth $4,945,262 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 8.16% of the company’s stock.

Quest Diagnostics 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.