Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX - Free Report) - Analysts at William Blair cut their Q4 2024 earnings per share estimates for shares of Quest Diagnostics in a note issued to investors on Tuesday, April 23rd. William Blair analyst A. Brackmann now forecasts that the medical research company will post earnings of $2.18 per share for the quarter, down from their previous estimate of $2.30. The consensus estimate for Quest Diagnostics' current full-year earnings is $8.75 per share. William Blair also issued estimates for Quest Diagnostics' Q1 2025 earnings at $2.30 EPS, Q2 2025 earnings at $2.47 EPS, Q3 2025 earnings at $2.44 EPS and Q4 2025 earnings at $2.35 EPS.
Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 23rd. The medical research company reported $2.04 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.86 by $0.18. The company had revenue of $2.37 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.29 billion. Quest Diagnostics had a return on equity of 15.52% and a net margin of 9.11%. Quest Diagnostics's revenue was up 1.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.04 EPS.
A number of other analysts also recently commented on DGX. Barclays upped their price objective on Quest Diagnostics from $138.00 to $144.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Thursday. Mizuho upped their price objective on Quest Diagnostics from $150.00 to $155.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday. UBS Group upped their price objective on Quest Diagnostics from $139.00 to $146.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday. Leerink Partnrs restated a "market perform" rating on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a report on Monday, February 26th. Finally, Citigroup upped their price objective on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $135.00 to $145.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $146.17.
Get Our Latest Stock Analysis on DGX
Quest Diagnostics Trading Down 1.5 %
Shares of DGX stock traded down $2.08 on Thursday, reaching $135.47. 1,016,096 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,063,713. The stock has a market cap of $15.04 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.00, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.95 and a beta of 0.91. The company has a quick ratio of 1.20, a current ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $128.69 and a two-hundred day moving average of $131.08. Quest Diagnostics has a 1-year low of $119.59 and a 1-year high of $147.96.
Quest Diagnostics Increases Dividend
The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 22nd. Investors of record on Monday, April 8th were paid a dividend of $0.75 per share. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.21%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, April 5th. This is a positive change from Quest Diagnostics's previous quarterly dividend of $0.71. Quest Diagnostics's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 37.92%.
Insider Activity at Quest Diagnostics
In other Quest Diagnostics news, SVP Michael E. Prevoznik sold 661 shares of Quest Diagnostics stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $126.14, for a total value of $83,378.54. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 40,206 shares in the company, valued at $5,071,584.84. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. In other Quest Diagnostics news, SVP Michael E. Prevoznik sold 5,611 shares of Quest Diagnostics stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $125.88, for a total value of $706,312.68. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 38,478 shares in the company, valued at $4,843,610.64. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, SVP Michael E. Prevoznik sold 661 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $126.14, for a total transaction of $83,378.54. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 40,206 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,071,584.84. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 15,150 shares of company stock worth $1,913,202 over the last quarter. 0.79% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.
Hedge Funds Weigh In On Quest Diagnostics
A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank boosted its stake in Quest Diagnostics by 12.9% in the 1st quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 83,546 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $11,121,000 after purchasing an additional 9,541 shares during the period. V Square Quantitative Management LLC boosted its stake in Quest Diagnostics by 17.2% in the 1st quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC now owns 3,114 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $415,000 after purchasing an additional 456 shares during the period. Simplicity Wealth LLC acquired a new position in Quest Diagnostics in the 1st quarter worth approximately $243,000. Silver Lake Advisory LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics during the 1st quarter valued at $269,000. Finally, Amalgamated Bank boosted its stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 2.0% during the 1st quarter. Amalgamated Bank now owns 28,842 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $3,839,000 after buying an additional 552 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 88.06% of the company's stock.
About Quest Diagnostics
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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.
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