Nuance Investments LLC Purchases New Position in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated $DGX

Nuance Investments LLC acquired a new position in shares of Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm acquired 30,207 shares of the medical research company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,757,000.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. True Wealth Design LLC raised its holdings in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 369.7% in the third quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 155 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 122 shares in the last quarter. MTM Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in Quest Diagnostics during the 2nd quarter valued at about $29,000. First Horizon Corp bought a new stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics in the 3rd quarter valued at about $33,000. AlphaQuest LLC lifted its position in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 18,400.0% in the 2nd quarter. AlphaQuest LLC now owns 185 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 184 shares during the period. Finally, Ameritas Advisory Services LLC bought a new position in shares of Quest Diagnostics during the second quarter valued at approximately $35,000. 88.06% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO J. E. Davis sold 55,093 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $192.22, for a total value of $10,589,976.46. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 120,480 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $23,158,665.60. This represents a 31.38% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Vicky B. Gregg sold 1,250 shares of Quest Diagnostics stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $191.76, for a total value of $239,700.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 17,037 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,267,015.12. This represents a 6.84% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold 64,289 shares of company stock valued at $12,318,360 over the last ninety days. 8.16% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Quest Diagnostics Stock Performance

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

Quest Diagnostics Announces Dividend

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have weighed in on DGX. Morgan Stanley set a $207.00 target price on Quest Diagnostics and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 22nd. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their target price on Quest Diagnostics from $200.00 to $215.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 21st. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a report on Monday, December 29th. Barclays upgraded shares of Quest Diagnostics from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $210.00 price target on the stock in a report on Friday, January 30th. Finally, Leerink Partners boosted their price objective on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $203.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 21st. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $198.50.

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.