Foster & Motley Inc. Has $3.39 Million Stake in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated $DGX

Foster & Motley Inc. lowered its position in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) by 20.4% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 19,547 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 5,015 shares during the period. Foster & Motley Inc.’s holdings in Quest Diagnostics were worth $3,392,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Perigon Wealth Management LLC raised its position in Quest Diagnostics by 4.5% in the 3rd quarter. Perigon Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,275 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $243,000 after purchasing an additional 55 shares during the last quarter. Independent Advisor Alliance grew its holdings in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 1.4% during the third quarter. Independent Advisor Alliance now owns 4,232 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $807,000 after purchasing an additional 59 shares during the last quarter. True North Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 4.1% in the third quarter. True North Advisors LLC now owns 1,554 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $296,000 after buying an additional 61 shares in the last quarter. Ossiam increased its stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 6.1% in the third quarter. Ossiam now owns 1,059 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $202,000 after buying an additional 61 shares in the last quarter. Finally, OLD Second National Bank of Aurora raised its holdings in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 14.9% in the third quarter. OLD Second National Bank of Aurora now owns 517 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $99,000 after buying an additional 67 shares during the last quarter. 88.06% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Quest Diagnostics Trading Down 0.7%

Shares of DGX opened at $195.84 on Wednesday. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $197.74 and its 200-day simple moving average is $187.76. The firm has a market capitalization of $21.52 billion, a PE ratio of 22.38, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.55 and a beta of 0.66. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a 12-month low of $157.20 and a 12-month high of $213.50. 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 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 analyst estimates of $2.75 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.23 earnings per share. The company’s revenue 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, research analysts predict that Quest Diagnostics Incorporated will post 9.7 earnings per share for the current year.

Quest Diagnostics declared that its board has initiated a stock buyback program on Tuesday, February 10th that authorizes the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the medical research company to repurchase up to 4.7% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are generally a sign that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Quest Diagnostics Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.8%. This is a positive change from Quest Diagnostics’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.80. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, April 6th. Quest Diagnostics’s payout ratio is presently 36.57%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Quest Diagnostics

In related news, SVP Michael E. Prevoznik sold 3,878 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $206.21, for a total value of $799,682.38. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 37,557 shares in the company, valued at $7,744,628.97. This represents a 9.36% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, SVP Karthik Kuppusamy sold 2,628 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $204.86, for a total transaction of $538,372.08. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 13,441 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,753,523.26. The trade was a 16.35% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last three months, insiders sold 24,083 shares of company stock valued at $4,945,262. 8.16% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts recently issued reports on DGX shares. Mizuho upped their price target on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $210.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 12th. Evercore set a $220.00 price objective on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a research report on Wednesday, February 11th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted 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. Robert W. Baird set a $219.00 target price on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a research report on Wednesday, February 11th. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut shares of Quest Diagnostics from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Sunday, March 15th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Quest Diagnostics has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average 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.