Eurizon Capital SGR S.p.A. Takes $43.24 Million Position in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated $DGX

Eurizon Capital SGR S.p.A. acquired a new stake in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm acquired 249,182 shares of the medical research company’s stock, valued at approximately $43,244,000.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of DGX. JFS Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 114.3% in the 4th quarter. JFS Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 150 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 80 shares in the last quarter. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC increased its stake in Quest Diagnostics by 113.7% during the 4th quarter. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC now owns 156 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 83 shares in the last quarter. McIlrath & Eck LLC bought a new stake in Quest Diagnostics during the 4th quarter valued at $32,000. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd bought a new stake in Quest Diagnostics during the 3rd quarter valued at $33,000. Finally, ORG Partners LLC increased its stake in Quest Diagnostics by 66.1% during the 4th quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 211 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $37,000 after purchasing an additional 84 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 88.06% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Quest Diagnostics

In related news, SVP Patrick Plewman sold 2,855 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $206.21, for a total value of $588,729.55. Following the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 15,198 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,133,979.58. The trade was a 15.81% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Karthik Kuppusamy sold 2,628 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 4th. The shares were 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 owned 13,441 shares in the company, valued at $2,753,523.26. This represents a 16.35% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold a total of 14,919 shares of company stock valued at $3,072,899 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.88% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have commented on the stock. Citigroup boosted their price target 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. UBS Group boosted their price target on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $210.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 22nd. Barclays boosted their price target on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $225.00 to $230.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 22nd. Jefferies Financial Group restated a “buy” rating and set a $225.00 price target on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a research note on Tuesday, April 21st. Finally, Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Quest Diagnostics from a “buy (b+)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 19th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $216.58.

Quest Diagnostics Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:DGX opened at $194.78 on Friday. The company’s 50-day moving average is $194.46 and its 200 day moving average is $191.04. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67, a quick ratio of 1.08 and a current ratio of 1.18. The company has a market capitalization of $21.56 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.52, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.32 and a beta of 0.60. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $164.65 and a fifty-two week high of $213.50.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 21st. The medical research company reported $2.50 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.37 by $0.13. The company had revenue of $2.90 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.83 billion. Quest Diagnostics had a net margin of 9.07% and a return on equity of 15.60%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 9.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.94 EPS. Quest Diagnostics has set its FY 2026 guidance at 10.630-10.830 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Quest Diagnostics Incorporated will post 10.72 earnings per share for the current year.

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

Quest Diagnostics Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 22nd. Investors of record on Wednesday, July 8th will be issued a $0.86 dividend. This represents a $3.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, July 8th. Quest Diagnostics’s payout ratio is 38.01%.

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.