Nisa Investment Advisors LLC Buys 402 Shares of Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX)

Nisa Investment Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) by 4.0% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 10,555 shares of the medical research company’s stock after buying an additional 402 shares during the quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC’s holdings in Quest Diagnostics were worth $1,592,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Versant Capital Management Inc boosted its stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 340.4% during the fourth quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 251 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $38,000 after purchasing an additional 194 shares during the period. First Financial Corp IN bought a new stake in Quest Diagnostics during the 4th quarter valued at $38,000. Sunbelt Securities Inc. purchased a new stake in Quest Diagnostics during the 2nd quarter valued at $40,000. Sentry Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in Quest Diagnostics in the 3rd quarter worth $82,000. Finally, Quarry LP purchased a new position in shares of Quest Diagnostics in the second quarter valued at about $74,000. 88.06% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently issued reports on the company. Barclays raised their target price on Quest Diagnostics from $154.00 to $168.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Truist Financial boosted their target price on Quest Diagnostics from $158.00 to $165.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, October 7th. Leerink Partnrs raised Quest Diagnostics from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Morgan Stanley raised shares of Quest Diagnostics from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $145.00 to $172.00 in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. Finally, Piper Sandler raised their target price on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $150.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, October 28th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Quest Diagnostics presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $172.15.

Insider Transactions at Quest Diagnostics

In other news, CAO Michael J. Deppe sold 18,755 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $154.05, for a total value of $2,889,207.75. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 34,941 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,382,661.05. This represents a 34.93 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Insiders own 0.79% of the company’s stock.

Quest Diagnostics Stock Performance

Shares of DGX opened at $159.94 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.17, a current ratio of 1.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.83. The stock has a market cap of $17.85 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.50, a P/E/G ratio of 2.36 and a beta of 0.90. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $155.66 and its 200-day moving average price is $153.21. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a 52 week low of $123.04 and a 52 week high of $165.32.

Quest Diagnostics Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 29th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, January 14th will be issued a $0.75 dividend. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.88%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, January 14th. Quest Diagnostics’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 40.32%.

Quest Diagnostics Company Profile

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.