BNP Paribas Financial Markets Has $39.58 Million Stock Holdings in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated $DGX

BNP Paribas Financial Markets boosted its position in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) by 2.9% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 228,057 shares of the medical research company’s stock after purchasing an additional 6,487 shares during the quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets’ holdings in Quest Diagnostics were worth $39,575,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. HB Wealth Management LLC raised its position in Quest Diagnostics by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. HB Wealth Management LLC now owns 11,292 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $1,960,000 after buying an additional 58 shares during the last quarter. Independent Advisor Alliance increased its position in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 1.4% during the 3rd 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. Ossiam increased its position in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 6.1% during the 3rd quarter. Ossiam now owns 1,059 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $202,000 after purchasing an additional 61 shares during the last quarter. Fulton Bank N.A. increased its position in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 1.7% during the 4th quarter. Fulton Bank N.A. now owns 4,180 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $725,000 after purchasing an additional 68 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Checchi Capital Advisers LLC increased its position in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 5.6% during the 4th quarter. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC now owns 1,326 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $230,000 after purchasing an additional 70 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 88.06% of the company’s stock.

Quest Diagnostics Stock Up 0.5%

DGX stock opened at $194.17 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 1.18, a quick ratio of 1.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67. The firm has a market capitalization of $21.50 billion, a PE ratio of 21.46, a PEG ratio of 2.30 and a beta of 0.59. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a 1-year low of $164.65 and a 1-year high of $213.50. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $194.34 and its 200 day simple moving average is $191.20.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) last posted its 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 business had revenue of $2.90 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.83 billion. Quest Diagnostics had a return on equity of 15.60% and a net margin of 9.07%.The firm’s revenue was up 9.2% compared to the same quarter last year. 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. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Quest Diagnostics Incorporated will post 10.72 EPS for the current year.

Quest Diagnostics Dividend Announcement

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

Quest Diagnostics declared that its board has authorized a share repurchase program on Tuesday, February 10th that allows the company to buyback $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows 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 management believes its shares are undervalued.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have weighed in on the company. Wall Street Zen lowered Quest Diagnostics from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, May 30th. UBS Group boosted their price target on Quest Diagnostics from $210.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Truist Financial boosted their price target on Quest Diagnostics from $220.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $225.00 price target on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a research report on Tuesday, April 21st. Finally, Barclays boosted their price target on Quest Diagnostics from $225.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Quest Diagnostics currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $216.58.

Insider Buying and Selling at Quest Diagnostics

In related news, CEO J. E. Davis sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $194.14, for a total transaction of $1,941,400.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 132,423 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $25,708,601.22. The trade was a 7.02% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders own 0.88% of the company’s stock.

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.