Nuveen Asset Management LLC Cuts Position in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX)

Nuveen Asset Management LLC cut its holdings in shares of Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX - Free Report) by 4.6% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 326,401 shares of the medical research company's stock after selling 15,772 shares during the period. Nuveen Asset Management LLC owned about 0.29% of Quest Diagnostics worth $49,241,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in DGX. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its holdings in Quest Diagnostics by 42.5% during the fourth 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 buying an additional 1,637,525 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Quest Diagnostics by 2.8% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,690,021 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $404,764,000 after buying an additional 73,368 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its position in 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 worth $367,180,000 after purchasing an additional 916,898 shares during the period. Grantham Mayo Van Otterloo & Co. LLC boosted its position in Quest Diagnostics by 1.2% during the fourth quarter. Grantham Mayo Van Otterloo & Co. LLC now owns 2,268,990 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $342,300,000 after purchasing an additional 26,214 shares during the period. Finally, Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Quest Diagnostics in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $191,823,000. 88.06% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on DGX shares. Truist Financial lifted their target price on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $182.00 to $190.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Piper Sandler lifted their target price on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $180.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Monday, April 28th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $180.00 to $190.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 6th. Mizuho boosted their price objective on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $178.00 to $189.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 9th. Finally, Redburn Atlantic started coverage on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a research report on Wednesday, April 2nd. They set a "buy" rating and a $195.00 price objective on the stock. 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 MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $185.73.

Insider Transactions at Quest Diagnostics

In related news, EVP Catherine T. Doherty sold 824 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $172.61, for a total transaction of $142,230.64. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 69,178 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $11,940,814.58. This represents a 1.18% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO J. E. Davis sold 39,191 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $168.46, for a total transaction of $6,602,115.86. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 127,623 shares in the company, valued at $21,499,370.58. This represents a 23.49% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 53,985 shares of company stock valued at $9,147,802. Company insiders own 8.16% of the company's stock.

Quest Diagnostics Trading Up 1.0%

Shares of DGX stock traded up $1.72 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $171.34. 1,025,574 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 992,088. The company has a quick ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 1.10 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 firm has a fifty day moving average of $170.37 and a 200 day moving average of $164.31. The firm has a market cap of $19.13 billion, a PE ratio of 22.28, a PEG ratio of 2.16 and a beta of 0.52.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 22nd. The medical research company reported $2.21 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.15 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $2.65 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.63 billion. Quest Diagnostics had a net margin of 8.80% and a return on equity of 15.07%. Analysts expect that Quest Diagnostics Incorporated will post 9.7 earnings per share for the current year.

Quest Diagnostics Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 21st. Stockholders of record on Monday, July 7th will be paid a $0.80 dividend. This represents a $3.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.87%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, July 7th. Quest Diagnostics's dividend payout ratio is currently 40.46%.

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.