Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. Purchases 3,581 Shares of Quest Diagnostics Incorporated $DGX

Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. raised its position in shares of Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) by 22.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 19,278 shares of the medical research company’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,581 shares during the quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co.’s holdings in Quest Diagnostics were worth $3,345,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. JFS Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 114.3% during the 4th quarter. JFS Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 150 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 80 shares during the period. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC lifted its position in shares of 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 buying an additional 83 shares in the last quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Quest Diagnostics during the 3rd quarter valued at about $33,000. McIlrath & Eck LLC purchased a new position in shares of Quest Diagnostics during the 4th quarter valued at about $32,000. Finally, Wellington Shields Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Quest Diagnostics during the 3rd quarter valued at about $38,000. 88.06% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Quest Diagnostics Stock Up 1.3%

NYSE DGX opened at $196.16 on Friday. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $194.35 and its 200 day moving average is $191.26. The company has a current ratio of 1.18, a quick ratio of 1.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a 12 month low of $164.65 and a 12 month high of $213.50. The stock has a market cap of $21.71 billion, a PE ratio of 21.67, a P/E/G ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 0.59.

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

Quest Diagnostics declared that its board has approved a share buyback program on Tuesday, February 10th that allows the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the medical research company to repurchase up to 4.7% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are generally an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Quest Diagnostics Announces Dividend

The firm 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. 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 1.8%. Quest Diagnostics’s payout ratio is currently 38.01%.

Insider Buying and Selling

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 value 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 document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Corporate insiders own 0.88% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Weiss Ratings cut Quest Diagnostics from a “buy (b+)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 19th. Wall Street Zen cut Quest Diagnostics from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, May 30th. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $225.00 price objective on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a research report on Tuesday, April 21st. UBS Group lifted their price objective on Quest Diagnostics from $210.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Finally, Truist Financial lifted their price objective on Quest Diagnostics from $220.00 to $225.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $216.58.

Quest Diagnostics Company 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.