Natixis Advisors LLC Sells 30,362 Shares of Quest Diagnostics Incorporated $DGX

Natixis Advisors LLC lessened its stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) by 23.8% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 97,002 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 30,362 shares during the period. Natixis Advisors LLC’s holdings in Quest Diagnostics were worth $16,833,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in DGX. Paradiem LLC acquired a new position in shares of Quest Diagnostics during the 4th quarter worth about $13,652,000. Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA acquired a new position in shares of Quest Diagnostics during the 4th quarter worth about $1,517,000. Cibc World Market Inc. increased its stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 209.6% during the 3rd quarter. Cibc World Market Inc. now owns 7,765 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $1,480,000 after purchasing an additional 5,257 shares during the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 346.5% during the 4th quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 24,949 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $4,329,000 after purchasing an additional 19,361 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Nuance Investments LLC acquired a new position in shares of Quest Diagnostics during the 3rd quarter worth about $5,757,000. Institutional investors own 88.06% of the company’s stock.

Quest Diagnostics Stock Performance

NYSE DGX opened at $200.74 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.08, a current ratio of 1.18 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67. The company has a market capitalization of $22.22 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.18, a P/E/G ratio of 2.34 and a beta of 0.59. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a 12-month low of $164.65 and a 12-month high of $213.50. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $194.43 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $191.33.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 21st. The medical research company reported $2.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.37 by $0.13. The firm had revenue of $2.90 billion during 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 business’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.94 EPS. Quest Diagnostics has set its FY 2026 guidance at 10.630-10.830 EPS. Analysts anticipate that Quest Diagnostics Incorporated will post 10.72 earnings per share for the current year.

Quest Diagnostics Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 22nd. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, July 8th will be issued a $0.86 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, July 8th. This represents a $3.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.7%. Quest Diagnostics’s payout ratio is currently 38.01%.

Quest Diagnostics announced that its board has initiated a share buyback plan on Tuesday, February 10th that allows the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in 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 a sign that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

DGX has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Truist Financial boosted their price objective on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $220.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 22nd. Citigroup boosted their price objective on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $190.00 to $215.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 10th. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $225.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 22nd. Jefferies Financial Group restated a “buy” rating and set a $225.00 price objective on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a research note on Tuesday, April 21st. Finally, Robert W. Baird boosted their price objective on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $224.00 to $229.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 22nd. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $216.58.

Insider Transactions at Quest Diagnostics

In other Quest Diagnostics news, CEO J. E. Davis sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $194.14, for a total value of $1,941,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 132,423 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $25,708,601.22. The trade was a 7.02% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. 0.88% of the stock is owned by corporate 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.