Nomura Holdings Inc. Purchases Shares of 3,674 Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX)

Nomura Holdings Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor purchased 3,674 shares of the medical research company's stock, valued at approximately $554,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in DGX. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its stake in Quest Diagnostics by 42.5% during the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 5,490,278 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $828,265,000 after purchasing an additional 1,637,525 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in Quest Diagnostics in the fourth quarter valued at about $191,823,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 60.4% during the fourth quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 2,433,913 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $367,180,000 after purchasing an additional 916,898 shares in the last quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. lifted its stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 83.7% in the fourth quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 1,093,042 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $164,896,000 after acquiring an additional 497,995 shares during the period. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in Quest Diagnostics in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $67,447,000. 88.06% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Quest Diagnostics news, SVP Michael E. Prevoznik sold 604 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $170.99, for a total value of $103,277.96. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 39,845 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,813,096.55. This trade represents a 1.49% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, SVP Mark E. Delaney sold 874 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $175.72, for a total value of $153,579.28. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 8,372 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,471,127.84. This trade represents a 9.45% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 54,589 shares of company stock worth $9,251,080 in the last ninety days. 8.16% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Quest Diagnostics Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE DGX opened at $178.18 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $19.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.17, a P/E/G ratio of 2.16 and a beta of 0.52. The company has a current ratio of 1.10, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.82. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a 1-year low of $135.47 and a 1-year high of $179.99. The stock's 50-day moving average is $170.46 and its 200 day moving average is $163.92.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 22nd. The medical research company reported $2.21 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.15 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $2.65 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.63 billion. Quest Diagnostics had a return on equity of 15.07% and a net margin of 8.80%. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Quest Diagnostics Incorporated will post 9.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Quest Diagnostics Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 21st. Investors of record on Monday, July 7th will be given a dividend of $0.80 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, July 7th. This represents a $3.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.80%. Quest Diagnostics's payout ratio is 40.46%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently commented on DGX. Citigroup downgraded Quest Diagnostics from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $185.00 price objective for the company. in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. UBS Group upped their price objective on Quest Diagnostics from $166.00 to $170.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Barclays upped their price objective on Quest Diagnostics from $175.00 to $185.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on Quest Diagnostics from $180.00 to $190.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 6th. Finally, Piper Sandler upped their price target on Quest Diagnostics from $180.00 to $200.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Monday, April 28th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Quest Diagnostics has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $185.73.

About Quest Diagnostics

Quest Diagnostics Incorporated provides diagnostic testing and services in the United States and internationally. The company develops and delivers diagnostic information services, such as routine, non-routine and advanced clinical testing, anatomic pathology testing, and other diagnostic information services.

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