Aurdan Capital Management LLC Takes Position in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX)

Aurdan Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm bought 7,597 shares of the medical research company's stock, valued at approximately $1,285,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in DGX. Brighton Jones LLC purchased a new position in shares of Quest Diagnostics in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $323,000. Jones Financial Companies Lllp lifted its position in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 117.4% in the fourth quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 1,848 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $279,000 after acquiring an additional 998 shares in the last quarter. Assetmark Inc. lifted its position in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 3.9% in the fourth quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 6,362 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $960,000 after acquiring an additional 239 shares in the last quarter. Atria Investments Inc lifted its position in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 9.8% in the fourth quarter. Atria Investments Inc now owns 6,632 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $1,001,000 after acquiring an additional 590 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Proficio Capital Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Quest Diagnostics in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $14,392,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 88.06% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

DGX has been the subject of several recent research reports. Truist Financial increased their price target on Quest Diagnostics from $182.00 to $190.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Redburn Atlantic initiated coverage on Quest Diagnostics in a report on Wednesday, April 2nd. They issued a "buy" rating and a $195.00 price target for the company. Piper Sandler increased their price target on Quest Diagnostics from $180.00 to $200.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Monday, April 28th. Robert W. Baird increased their price target on Quest Diagnostics from $191.00 to $194.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Finally, Barclays increased their price target on Quest Diagnostics from $175.00 to $185.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Eight 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 company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $185.73.

Quest Diagnostics Trading Down 2.0%

Shares of NYSE:DGX traded down $3.45 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $168.00. 1,335,607 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 994,849. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $175.88 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $168.43. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.84, a current ratio of 1.44 and a quick ratio of 1.31. The stock has a market cap of $18.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.24, a P/E/G ratio of 2.39 and a beta of 0.49. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $137.71 and a fifty-two week high of $182.38.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 firm had revenue of $2.65 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.63 billion. Quest Diagnostics had a return on equity of 15.11% and a net margin of 8.81%. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Quest Diagnostics Incorporated will post 9.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Quest Diagnostics Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 21st. Shareholders of record on Monday, July 7th will be given a $0.80 dividend. This represents a $3.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.90%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, July 7th. Quest Diagnostics's dividend payout ratio is currently 40.46%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Quest Diagnostics news, SVP Mark E. Delaney sold 874 shares of Quest Diagnostics stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 8,372 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,471,127.84. The trade was a 9.45% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 8.16% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Quest Diagnostics 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.