Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) Given Average Rating of "Moderate Buy" by Analysts

Key Points

• Quest Diagnostics has received a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" from 19 research firms, with an average price target of $196.31.
• The company reported earnings of $2.60 per share for the most recent quarter, exceeding expectations and marking a 13.2% revenue increase year-over-year.
• Quest Diagnostics declared a quarterly dividend of $0.80 per share, translating to an annualized yield of 1.8%.

Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX - Get Free Report) has been assigned a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" from the nineteen research firms that are currently covering the stock, MarketBeat reports. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. The average 12-month price objective among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $196.3125.

DGX has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Robert W. Baird reissued a "neutral" rating and set a $194.00 price target on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a research report on Monday, August 25th. Mizuho upped their target price on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $190.00 to $210.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, October 17th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their target price on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $160.00 to $178.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 23rd. Evercore ISI boosted their price objective on Quest Diagnostics from $185.00 to $190.00 and gave the company an "in-line" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, Truist Financial lifted their target price on Quest Diagnostics from $195.00 to $205.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday.

Quest Diagnostics Trading Down 0.4%

NYSE DGX opened at $182.51 on Friday. Quest Diagnostics has a one year low of $148.70 and a one year high of $197.55. The company's 50 day moving average price is $182.99 and its 200 day moving average price is $176.78. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a current ratio of 1.13. The firm has a market capitalization of $20.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.42, a PEG ratio of 2.42 and a beta of 0.56.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 21st. The medical research company reported $2.60 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.51 by $0.09. Quest Diagnostics had a return on equity of 15.47% and a net margin of 8.91%.The firm had revenue of $2.82 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.73 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $2.30 EPS. Quest Diagnostics's quarterly revenue was up 13.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Quest Diagnostics has set its FY 2025 guidance at 9.760-9.840 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Quest Diagnostics will post 9.7 EPS for the current year.

Quest Diagnostics Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, October 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 3rd were given a dividend of $0.80 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, October 3rd. This represents a $3.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.8%. Quest Diagnostics's dividend payout ratio is currently 38.32%.

Insider Activity

In related news, SVP Karthik Kuppusamy sold 8,269 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $167.40, for a total value of $1,384,230.60. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 10,660 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,784,484. This represents a 43.68% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Gary M. Pfeiffer sold 1,482 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $182.40, for a total value of $270,316.80. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 29,431 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,368,214.40. The trade was a 4.79% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 54,668 shares of company stock valued at $9,917,788. Company insiders own 8.16% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Quest Diagnostics

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Boston Partners purchased a new position in Quest Diagnostics in the 1st quarter worth about $388,724,000. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Quest Diagnostics during the 2nd quarter worth about $238,122,000. M&G PLC grew its holdings in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 256.5% during the 2nd quarter. M&G PLC now owns 1,072,721 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $193,090,000 after acquiring an additional 771,824 shares in the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its holdings in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 9.0% during the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 5,984,238 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $1,012,534,000 after acquiring an additional 493,960 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Pacer Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in Quest Diagnostics by 2,531.6% in the third quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 450,898 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $85,932,000 after buying an additional 433,764 shares during the last quarter. 88.06% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.

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