Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. Has $6.58 Million Stock Position in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX)

Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. lessened its holdings in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) by 2.7% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 43,596 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 1,229 shares during the quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd.’s holdings in Quest Diagnostics were worth $6,577,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in DGX. Sierra Ocean LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics in the fourth quarter worth approximately $33,000. Versant Capital Management Inc raised its position in Quest Diagnostics by 340.4% in the 4th quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 251 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $38,000 after buying an additional 194 shares during the last quarter. First Financial Corp IN purchased a new stake in Quest Diagnostics in the 4th quarter valued at $38,000. FPC Investment Advisory Inc. bought a new position in Quest Diagnostics during the 4th quarter valued at $45,000. Finally, Global Trust Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in Quest Diagnostics during the 4th quarter worth $49,000. Institutional investors own 88.06% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, SVP Mark E. Delaney sold 403 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $164.30, for a total value of $66,212.90. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 4,624 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $759,723.20. This represents a 8.02 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, SVP Michael E. Prevoznik sold 4,643 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $170.00, for a total transaction of $789,310.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 38,117 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,479,890. This represents a 10.86 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 14,157 shares of company stock valued at $2,423,755. Corporate insiders own 0.79% of the company’s stock.

Quest Diagnostics Price Performance

NYSE DGX opened at $169.39 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 1.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.82. The company has a market cap of $18.80 billion, a PE ratio of 22.03, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.16 and a beta of 0.92. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a 52 week low of $125.42 and a 52 week high of $178.87. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $167.00 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $159.20.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The medical research company reported $2.23 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.19 by $0.04. Quest Diagnostics had a net margin of 8.80% and a return on equity of 15.07%. Research analysts predict that Quest Diagnostics Incorporated will post 9.7 earnings per share for the current year.

Quest Diagnostics Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 21st. Investors of record on Monday, April 7th will be paid a dividend of $0.80 per share. This represents a $3.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.89%. This is a positive change from Quest Diagnostics’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. The ex-dividend date is Monday, April 7th. Quest Diagnostics’s payout ratio is presently 41.61%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently commented on DGX. Robert W. Baird increased their target price on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $190.00 to $191.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, March 20th. Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of Quest Diagnostics from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $145.00 to $172.00 in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. Leerink Partners upgraded Quest Diagnostics from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $169.00 to $174.00 in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Citigroup downgraded Quest Diagnostics from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $185.00 price target for the company. in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. Finally, UBS Group boosted their price objective on Quest Diagnostics from $166.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Quest Diagnostics currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $178.38.

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.