Leerink Partnrs Analysts Decrease Earnings Estimates for DGX

Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) – Leerink Partnrs reduced their Q1 2025 earnings estimates for shares of Quest Diagnostics in a research report issued to clients and investors on Wednesday, March 19th. Leerink Partnrs analyst M. Cherny now expects that the medical research company will post earnings of $2.11 per share for the quarter, down from their previous forecast of $2.21. Leerink Partnrs 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’ Q3 2025 earnings at $2.49 EPS and Q4 2025 earnings at $2.46 EPS.

Several other equities research analysts also recently issued reports on DGX. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $185.00 price objective (up previously from $175.00) on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Robert W. Baird boosted their price target on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $190.00 to $191.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 20th. Mizuho raised their price objective on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $177.00 to $178.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Piper Sandler reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $180.00 target price (up from $165.00) on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, StockNews.com cut shares of Quest Diagnostics from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $178.38.

Quest Diagnostics Stock Down 1.1 %

Shares of NYSE DGX opened at $165.49 on Monday. Quest Diagnostics has a 52-week low of $125.42 and a 52-week high of $178.87. The business’s 50 day moving average is $165.70 and its two-hundred day moving average is $158.82. The firm has a market cap of $18.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.52, a PEG ratio of 2.16 and a beta of 0.92. The company has a quick ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 1.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.82.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The medical research company reported $2.23 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.19 by $0.04. Quest Diagnostics had a net margin of 8.80% and a return on equity of 15.07%.

Institutional Trading of Quest Diagnostics

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its stake in Quest Diagnostics by 42.5% in the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 5,490,278 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $828,265,000 after buying an additional 1,637,525 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its holdings in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 1.4% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 5,263,231 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $817,117,000 after acquiring an additional 70,578 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in Quest Diagnostics by 2.8% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,690,021 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $404,764,000 after purchasing an additional 73,368 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its stake in Quest Diagnostics by 60.4% during the 4th quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 2,433,913 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $367,180,000 after purchasing an additional 916,898 shares during the period. Finally, Grantham Mayo Van Otterloo & Co. LLC grew its position in Quest Diagnostics by 1.2% during the 4th quarter. Grantham Mayo Van Otterloo & Co. LLC now owns 2,268,990 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $342,300,000 after purchasing an additional 26,214 shares during the last quarter. 88.06% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at Quest Diagnostics

In other news, SVP Mark E. Delaney sold 403 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $164.30, for a total value of $66,212.90. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 4,624 shares in the company, valued at approximately $759,723.20. This represents a 8.02 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Catherine T. Doherty sold 535 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $169.71, for a total transaction of $90,794.85. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 71,356 shares in the company, valued at $12,109,826.76. This trade represents a 0.74 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 14,157 shares of company stock valued at $2,423,755. 0.79% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Quest Diagnostics Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 21st. Shareholders of record on Monday, April 7th will be issued a dividend of $0.80 per share. This represents a $3.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.93%. This is an increase from Quest Diagnostics’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. The ex-dividend date is Monday, April 7th. Quest Diagnostics’s payout ratio is 41.61%.

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.