Versor Investments LP Has $664,000 Holdings in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX)

Versor Investments LP reduced its holdings in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) by 30.1% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 4,400 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 1,897 shares during the quarter. Versor Investments LP’s holdings in Quest Diagnostics were worth $664,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Landscape Capital Management L.L.C. acquired a new position in shares of Quest Diagnostics in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $1,363,000. Sanctuary Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Quest Diagnostics by 85.5% during the 3rd quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 17,969 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $2,940,000 after buying an additional 8,282 shares in the last quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Quest Diagnostics by 7.7% during the 3rd quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 92,830 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $14,412,000 after buying an additional 6,619 shares in the last quarter. BankPlus Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Quest Diagnostics during the 4th quarter worth $355,000. Finally, Van ECK Associates Corp lifted its holdings in Quest Diagnostics by 980.3% during the 4th quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 24,198 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $3,650,000 after buying an additional 21,958 shares in the last quarter. 88.06% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have issued reports on DGX shares. UBS Group upped their price objective on Quest Diagnostics from $166.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Mizuho upped their price objective on Quest Diagnostics from $177.00 to $178.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Piper Sandler reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $180.00 price objective (up previously from $165.00) on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Leerink Partners raised Quest Diagnostics from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $169.00 to $174.00 in a report on Monday, January 6th. Finally, Truist Financial upped their price objective on Quest Diagnostics from $172.00 to $182.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $178.23.

Quest Diagnostics Price Performance

DGX opened at $172.86 on Friday. 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 12 month low of $123.66 and a 12 month high of $176.44. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $159.63 and a 200 day simple moving average of $156.73. The stock has a market cap of $19.18 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.48, a P/E/G ratio of 2.16 and a beta of 0.91.

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, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.19 by $0.04. Quest Diagnostics had a net margin of 8.80% and a return on equity of 15.07%. On average, research analysts expect that Quest Diagnostics Incorporated will post 9.7 EPS for the current year.

Quest Diagnostics Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 21st. Shareholders of record on Monday, April 7th will be issued a dividend of $0.80 per share. This represents a $3.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.85%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, April 7th. This is a boost from Quest Diagnostics’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. Quest Diagnostics’s dividend payout ratio is 41.61%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Quest Diagnostics news, SVP Michael E. Prevoznik sold 528 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $172.61, for a total transaction of $91,138.08. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 39,031 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,737,140.91. This represents a 1.33 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Catherine T. Doherty sold 824 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $172.61, for a total value of $142,230.64. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 69,178 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,940,814.58. This trade represents a 1.18 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 4,144 shares of company stock worth $699,367. Corporate insiders own 0.79% of the company’s stock.

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.