PNC Financial Services Group Inc. Trims Stake in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated $DGX

PNC Financial Services Group Inc. decreased its position in shares of Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) by 10.4% during the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 36,847 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 4,265 shares during the period. PNC Financial Services Group Inc.’s holdings in Quest Diagnostics were worth $7,022,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

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

Quest Diagnostics Stock Down 1.0%

Shares of NYSE DGX opened at $202.44 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72, a current ratio of 1.04 and a quick ratio of 0.96. The company has a market cap of $22.52 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.14, a PEG ratio of 2.64 and a beta of 0.66. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a 1 year low of $157.20 and a 1 year high of $213.20. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $185.18 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $183.41.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, February 10th. The medical research company reported $2.42 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.75 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.23 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly 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. Research analysts anticipate that Quest Diagnostics Incorporated will post 9.7 earnings per share for the current 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 $0.86 dividend. 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 payout ratio is 36.57%.

Quest Diagnostics announced that its board has authorized a stock buyback plan on Tuesday, February 10th that authorizes the company to buyback $1.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the medical research company to buy up to 4.7% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are typically a sign that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Analyst Ratings Changes

DGX has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Quest Diagnostics from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, February 14th. Truist Financial boosted their price target on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $205.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 11th. Robert W. Baird set a $219.00 price objective on Quest Diagnostics in a research report on Wednesday, February 11th. Barclays boosted their target price on Quest Diagnostics from $210.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 11th. Finally, Citigroup raised their price target on Quest Diagnostics from $190.00 to $215.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 10th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $210.29.

Insider Transactions at Quest Diagnostics

In related news, CEO J. E. Davis sold 55,093 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $192.22, for a total value of $10,589,976.46. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 120,480 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $23,158,665.60. This trade represents a 31.38% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, SVP Patrick Plewman sold 5,662 shares of Quest Diagnostics stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $204.00, for a total transaction of $1,155,048.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president owned 15,381 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,137,724. The trade was a 26.91% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 62,005 shares of company stock worth $11,984,724. 8.16% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.