Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) Given Average Recommendation of "Moderate Buy" by Brokerages

Key Points

• Quest Diagnostics has received a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" from 18 brokerages, with an average 1-year price target of $186.00.
• Recent insider transactions include the sale of shares by senior executives, with the total insider sales amounting to $4.28 million in the last three months.
• The company reported quarterly earnings of $2.62 EPS, surpassing expectations, and announced a dividend of $0.80 to be paid on October 20th, reflecting a 1.8% dividend yield.

Shares of Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX - Get Free Report) have earned a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" from the eighteen analysts that are presently covering the firm, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating on the company. The average 12-month price objective among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $186.00.

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on DGX shares. Truist Financial boosted their price objective on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $190.00 to $192.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 23rd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their price target on Quest Diagnostics from $160.00 to $178.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 23rd. UBS Group dropped their price objective on Quest Diagnostics from $176.00 to $175.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, July 18th. Baird R W downgraded Quest Diagnostics from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, August 25th. Finally, William Blair reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a report on Wednesday, July 23rd.

Quest Diagnostics Stock Down 1.3%

Shares of Quest Diagnostics stock traded down $2.37 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $180.31. 652,122 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 724,638. The stock has a market cap of $20.16 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.59, a P/E/G ratio of 2.42 and a beta of 0.54. The company has a 50 day moving average of $175.49 and a two-hundred day moving average of $173.60. The company has a current ratio of 1.09, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71. Quest Diagnostics has a fifty-two week low of $146.17 and a fifty-two week high of $185.62.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, July 22nd. The medical research company reported $2.62 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.57 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $2.76 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.73 billion. Quest Diagnostics had a return on equity of 15.24% and a net margin of 9.01%.Quest Diagnostics's revenue was up 15.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $2.35 earnings per share. Quest Diagnostics has set its FY 2025 guidance at 9.630-9.830 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Quest Diagnostics will post 9.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Quest Diagnostics Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, October 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 3rd will be given a $0.80 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 3rd. This represents a $3.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.8%. Quest Diagnostics's dividend payout ratio is presently 38.32%.

Insider Activity

In other Quest Diagnostics news, SVP Karthik Kuppusamy sold 2,210 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $170.00, for a total value of $375,700.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 8,450 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,436,500. This represents a 20.73% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Patrick Plewman sold 1,975 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $185.00, for a total value of $365,375.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president owned 15,269 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,824,765. This represents a 11.45% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 24,496 shares of company stock valued at $4,278,787 in the last ninety days. 8.16% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Quest Diagnostics

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in Quest Diagnostics by 2.1% during the second quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 14,233,576 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $2,556,777,000 after acquiring an additional 296,860 shares during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its holdings in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 9.0% during the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 5,984,238 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $1,012,534,000 after purchasing an additional 493,960 shares during the period. Boston Partners increased its holdings in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 32.4% during the second quarter. Boston Partners now owns 3,039,848 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $545,318,000 after purchasing an additional 744,102 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 7.5% in the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,982,415 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $533,563,000 after buying an additional 208,261 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 29.9% in the second quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,658,351 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $297,890,000 after buying an additional 381,619 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 88.06% 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.