Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX – Free Report) – Equities research analysts at Leerink Partnrs reduced their FY2024 earnings per share (EPS) estimates for Quest Diagnostics in a research note issued to investors on Friday, November 22nd. Leerink Partnrs analyst M. Cherny now anticipates that the medical research company will earn $8.87 per share for the year, down from their previous forecast of $8.90. The consensus estimate for Quest Diagnostics’ current full-year earnings is $8.90 per share. Leerink Partnrs also issued estimates for Quest Diagnostics’ Q4 2024 earnings at $2.17 EPS, Q1 2025 earnings at $2.23 EPS, FY2025 earnings at $9.68 EPS and FY2027 earnings at $11.47 EPS.
Other equities analysts also recently issued reports about the company. Barclays raised their price objective on Quest Diagnostics from $154.00 to $168.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Citigroup raised their price target on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $165.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Robert W. Baird raised shares of Quest Diagnostics from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $157.00 to $182.00 in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Quest Diagnostics from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, November 18th. Finally, Evercore ISI assumed coverage on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a research report on Wednesday, August 28th. They set an “in-line” rating and a $165.00 price target on the stock. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $164.58.
Quest Diagnostics Stock Down 0.2 %
Shares of NYSE:DGX opened at $163.59 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $18.26 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.99, a P/E/G ratio of 2.83 and a beta of 0.89. Quest Diagnostics has a 12-month low of $123.04 and a 12-month high of $165.10. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $154.84 and a 200 day simple moving average of $148.37. The company has a quick ratio of 1.17, a current ratio of 1.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.83.
Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX – Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The medical research company reported $2.30 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.26 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $2.49 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.43 billion. Quest Diagnostics had a net margin of 8.82% and a return on equity of 15.25%. The company’s revenue was up 8.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $2.22 EPS.
Quest Diagnostics Announces Dividend
The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 29th. Investors of record on Tuesday, January 14th will be given a $0.75 dividend. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.83%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, January 14th. Quest Diagnostics’s payout ratio is currently 40.32%.
Insider Buying and Selling at Quest Diagnostics
In other news, CAO Michael J. Deppe sold 18,755 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $154.05, for a total value of $2,889,207.75. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 34,941 shares in the company, valued at $5,382,661.05. This represents a 34.93 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, SVP Karthik Kuppusamy sold 1,775 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $156.92, for a total transaction of $278,533.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 9,734 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,527,459.28. This trade represents a 15.42 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 22,520 shares of company stock worth $3,472,728. 0.79% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.
Hedge Funds Weigh In On Quest Diagnostics
Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Mizuho Securities USA LLC grew its position in Quest Diagnostics by 5,168.5% during the third quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC now owns 451,403 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $70,080,000 after acquiring an additional 442,835 shares during the last quarter. Van Lanschot Kempen Investment Management N.V. acquired a new position in shares of Quest Diagnostics during the second quarter worth about $48,783,000. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC increased its stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 601.7% during the second quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC now owns 277,561 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $37,993,000 after buying an additional 238,007 shares during the period. Point72 Asset Management L.P. increased its stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 222.0% during the second quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. now owns 299,740 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $41,028,000 after buying an additional 206,640 shares during the period. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA acquired a new stake in Quest Diagnostics in the second quarter valued at approximately $22,049,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.
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