Nuance Investments LLC Acquires Shares of 30,207 Quest Diagnostics Incorporated $DGX

Nuance Investments LLC acquired a new stake in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 30,207 shares of the medical research company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,757,000.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in DGX. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in Quest Diagnostics by 2.1% during the 2nd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 14,233,576 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $2,556,777,000 after purchasing an additional 296,860 shares during the period. Boston Partners boosted its stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 32.4% in the second quarter. Boston Partners now owns 3,039,848 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $545,318,000 after buying an additional 744,102 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Quest Diagnostics by 7.5% during the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,982,415 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $533,563,000 after acquiring an additional 208,261 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. raised its position in Quest Diagnostics by 29.9% during the second quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,658,351 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $297,890,000 after acquiring an additional 381,619 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE lifted its holdings in Quest Diagnostics by 36.3% in the second quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 1,599,602 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $287,337,000 after acquiring an additional 426,399 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 88.06% of the company’s stock.

Quest Diagnostics Stock Down 0.8%

DGX stock opened at $190.82 on Monday. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a 52 week low of $157.20 and a 52 week high of $197.55. The company has a quick ratio of 1.04, a current ratio of 1.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $181.18 and a 200-day simple moving average of $181.37. The stock has a market capitalization of $21.23 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.40, a P/E/G ratio of 2.41 and a beta of 0.66.

Quest Diagnostics Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 28th. Investors of record on Tuesday, January 13th were paid a $0.80 dividend. This represents a $3.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, January 13th. Quest Diagnostics’s dividend payout ratio is currently 37.56%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on DGX shares. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Leerink Partners raised their price target on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $203.00 to $210.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 21st. Morgan Stanley set a $207.00 price objective on shares of Quest Diagnostics and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 22nd. Piper Sandler raised their target price on Quest Diagnostics from $190.00 to $200.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, October 27th. Finally, Truist Financial lifted their price target on Quest Diagnostics from $195.00 to $205.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 22nd. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Quest Diagnostics currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $198.50.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Mark E. Delaney sold 7,946 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $187.35, for a total value of $1,488,683.10. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 7,530 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,410,745.50. This trade represents a 51.34% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CEO J. E. Davis sold 55,093 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $192.22, for a total transaction of $10,589,976.46. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 120,480 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $23,158,665.60. The trade was a 31.38% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold 64,289 shares of company stock worth $12,318,360 over the last three months. Insiders own 8.16% of the company’s stock.

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.