Aurdan Capital Management LLC Sells 4,146 Shares of Quest Diagnostics Incorporated $DGX

Aurdan Capital Management LLC cut its position in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) by 59.8% in the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 2,791 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 4,146 shares during the quarter. Aurdan Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Quest Diagnostics were worth $532,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. True Wealth Design LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 369.7% during the third quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 155 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 122 shares in the last quarter. MTM Investment Management LLC bought a new position in Quest Diagnostics during the 2nd quarter valued at about $29,000. First Horizon Corp bought a new position in Quest Diagnostics during the 3rd quarter valued at about $33,000. AlphaQuest LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 18,400.0% during the 2nd quarter. AlphaQuest LLC now owns 185 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 184 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ameritas Advisory Services LLC bought a new stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics in the second quarter worth approximately $35,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 88.06% of the company’s stock.

Quest Diagnostics Stock Up 1.5%

NYSE DGX opened at $192.02 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $181.14 and its 200-day moving average price is $181.11. The company has a market capitalization of $21.36 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.54, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.40 and a beta of 0.66. The company has a quick ratio of 1.04, a current ratio of 1.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a 52 week low of $157.20 and a 52 week high of $197.55.

Quest Diagnostics Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 28th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, January 13th were given a $0.80 dividend. This represents a $3.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.7%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, January 13th. Quest Diagnostics’s dividend payout ratio is presently 37.56%.

Insider Transactions at Quest Diagnostics

In related news, CEO J. E. Davis sold 55,093 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $192.22, for a total value of $10,589,976.46. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 120,480 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $23,158,665.60. This represents a 31.38% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, SVP Mark E. Delaney sold 7,946 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $187.35, for a total value of $1,488,683.10. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 7,530 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,410,745.50. The trade was a 51.34% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold a total of 64,289 shares of company stock valued at $12,318,360 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 8.16% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

DGX has been the topic of several research reports. Piper Sandler raised their target price on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $190.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, October 27th. Wall Street Zen downgraded Quest Diagnostics from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Sunday, January 25th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Barclays raised Quest Diagnostics from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $210.00 target price on the stock in a report on Friday, January 30th. Finally, Leerink Partners raised their target price on Quest Diagnostics from $203.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 21st. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $198.27.

About Quest Diagnostics

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE: DGX) is a leading provider of diagnostic information services that supports clinical decision-making for patients, physicians and healthcare organizations. The company operates a network of clinical laboratories and patient service centers that perform a broad range of laboratory tests and diagnostic assays used in routine care, disease diagnosis, monitoring and screening.

Its services span core clinical laboratory testing, anatomic pathology, molecular and genomic diagnostics, infectious disease testing and toxicology.