Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) Posts Earnings Results, Beats Estimates By $0.09 EPS

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday. The medical research company reported $2.60 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.51 by $0.09, Zacks reports. The business had revenue of $2.82 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.73 billion. Quest Diagnostics had a return on equity of 15.63% and a net margin of 8.91%.The company’s quarterly revenue was up 13.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.30 earnings per share. Quest Diagnostics updated its FY 2025 guidance to 9.760-9.840 EPS.

Quest Diagnostics Stock Down 1.9%

DGX opened at $181.04 on Thursday. Quest Diagnostics has a fifty-two week low of $148.70 and a fifty-two week high of $197.55. The company’s 50-day moving average is $182.84 and its 200 day moving average is $176.49. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71, a current ratio of 1.09 and a quick ratio of 0.99. The firm has a market capitalization of $20.24 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.25, a PEG ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 0.56.

Quest Diagnostics Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, October 20th. Investors of record on Friday, October 3rd were given a dividend of $0.80 per share. This represents a $3.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, October 3rd. Quest Diagnostics’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 38.32%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on DGX. Robert W. Baird reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $194.00 target price on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a report on Monday, August 25th. Leerink Partners set a $210.00 target price on Quest Diagnostics and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday. Mizuho raised their price objective 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. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, Evercore ISI raised their price objective on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $185.00 to $190.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have issued a Buy rating and ten have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Quest Diagnostics has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $196.31.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, SVP Patrick Plewman sold 5,535 shares of Quest Diagnostics stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $175.00, for a total transaction of $968,625.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 19,219 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,363,325. This trade represents a 22.36% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, SVP Michael E. Prevoznik sold 28,288 shares of Quest Diagnostics stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $187.12, for a total value of $5,293,250.56. Following the sale, the senior vice president owned 38,117 shares in the company, valued at $7,132,453.04. The trade was a 42.60% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 53,186 shares of company stock valued at $9,647,471 in the last 90 days. 8.16% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Quest Diagnostics

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in DGX. AXA S.A. grew its holdings in Quest Diagnostics by 6.0% in the 2nd quarter. AXA S.A. now owns 1,696 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $305,000 after acquiring an additional 96 shares during the last quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. grew its stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 2.4% in the second quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. now owns 6,751 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $1,213,000 after purchasing an additional 156 shares during the last quarter. Cresset Asset Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 4.6% in the second quarter. Cresset Asset Management LLC now owns 4,003 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $719,000 after purchasing an additional 176 shares during the last quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 20.6% in the 2nd quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 1,134 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $204,000 after buying an additional 194 shares during the last quarter. Finally, MUFG Securities EMEA plc bought a new stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $59,000. 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.