Q3 EPS Estimate for Quest Diagnostics Lowered by Analyst

Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX - Free Report) - Equities research analysts at Leerink Partnrs lowered their Q3 2025 earnings estimates for shares of Quest Diagnostics in a report released on Tuesday, April 22nd. Leerink Partnrs analyst M. Cherny now forecasts that the medical research company will post earnings of $2.53 per share for the quarter, down from their prior estimate of $2.54. Leerink Partnrs currently has a "Strong-Buy" rating on the stock. The consensus estimate for Quest Diagnostics' current full-year earnings is $9.70 per share. Leerink Partnrs also issued estimates for Quest Diagnostics' FY2026 earnings at $10.48 EPS, FY2027 earnings at $11.45 EPS and FY2028 earnings at $12.51 EPS.

Other equities analysts have also issued research reports about the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on Quest Diagnostics from $173.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. UBS Group upped their price target on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $166.00 to $170.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Truist Financial upped their price target on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $182.00 to $190.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Mizuho upped their price target on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $178.00 to $189.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 9th. Finally, Barclays upped their price target on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $175.00 to $185.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $185.07.

Quest Diagnostics Stock Performance

NYSE:DGX traded up $2.88 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $176.64. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,132,960 shares, compared to its average volume of 965,999. Quest Diagnostics has a 12-month low of $134.50 and a 12-month high of $178.87. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $168.96 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $161.16. The company has a current ratio of 1.10, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.82. The stock has a market cap of $19.72 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.97, a PEG ratio of 2.16 and a beta of 0.78.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 22nd. The medical research company reported $2.21 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.15 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $2.65 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.63 billion. Quest Diagnostics had a net margin of 8.80% and a return on equity of 15.07%.

Quest Diagnostics Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 21st. Investors of record on Monday, April 7th were issued a $0.80 dividend. This is a boost from Quest Diagnostics's previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. The ex-dividend date was Monday, April 7th. This represents a $3.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.81%. Quest Diagnostics's dividend payout ratio is presently 40.46%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, SVP Mark E. Delaney sold 403 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $164.30, for a total value of $66,212.90. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 4,624 shares in the company, valued at $759,723.20. This represents a 8.02 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CEO J. E. Davis sold 39,191 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $168.46, for a total value of $6,602,115.86. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 127,623 shares of the company's stock, valued at $21,499,370.58. This trade represents a 23.49 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 55,903 shares of company stock valued at $9,460,221. 8.16% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Quest Diagnostics

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Barclays PLC increased its stake in Quest Diagnostics by 35.9% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 298,922 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $46,407,000 after purchasing an additional 78,980 shares during the period. Te Ahumairangi Investment Management Ltd increased its stake in Quest Diagnostics by 3.1% during the third quarter. Te Ahumairangi Investment Management Ltd now owns 50,004 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $7,719,000 after purchasing an additional 1,520 shares during the period. Pine Valley Investments Ltd Liability Co increased its stake in Quest Diagnostics by 13.1% during the third quarter. Pine Valley Investments Ltd Liability Co now owns 34,708 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $5,388,000 after purchasing an additional 4,024 shares during the period. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB purchased a new stake in Quest Diagnostics during the third quarter worth about $201,000. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. increased its stake in Quest Diagnostics by 45.8% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 54,897 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $8,180,000 after purchasing an additional 17,240 shares during the period. 88.06% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.