Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) Given Consensus Rating of "Hold" by Brokerages

Key Points

• Market consensus: 15 brokerages rate Quest Diagnostics a consensus "Hold" (8 holds, 7 buys) with an average 12‑month target of $210.69.
• Recent results: Quest posted $2.42 EPS (vs. $2.35 expected) and $2.81B revenue (up 7.1% YoY) and set FY2026 guidance of EPS $9.45–9.65 (analysts forecast ~9.7).
• Capital returns: the board approved a $1.00 billion share buyback (≈4.7% of shares) and raised the quarterly dividend to $0.86 ($3.44 annual, ~1.8% yield).

Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX - Get Free Report) has been given a consensus recommendation of "Hold" by the fifteen brokerages that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and seven have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month target price among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $210.6923.

Several analysts have recently commented on the stock. Truist Financial raised their target price on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $205.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 11th. Evercore set a $210.00 target price on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a research note on Wednesday, April 8th. Weiss Ratings restated a "buy (b-)" rating on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a research note on Monday, December 29th. UBS Group raised their target price on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $190.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 11th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised their target price on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $215.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 10th.

Quest Diagnostics Trading Up 1.8%

Shares of Quest Diagnostics stock opened at $194.88 on Friday. Quest Diagnostics has a 1 year low of $160.02 and a 1 year high of $213.50. The company has a market capitalization of $21.57 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.27, a PEG ratio of 2.47 and a beta of 0.66. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72, a quick ratio of 0.96 and a current ratio of 1.04. The company's fifty day moving average is $200.42 and its two-hundred day moving average is $188.70.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, February 10th. The medical research company reported $2.42 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.35 by $0.07. Quest Diagnostics had a net margin of 8.99% and a return on equity of 15.57%. The company had revenue of $2.81 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.75 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $2.23 EPS. The business's revenue was up 7.1% on a year-over-year basis. Quest Diagnostics has set its FY 2026 guidance at 9.45-9.650 EPS. Analysts forecast that Quest Diagnostics will post 9.7 earnings per share for the current year.

Quest Diagnostics announced that its Board of Directors has approved a stock buyback plan on Tuesday, February 10th that authorizes the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the medical research company to reacquire up to 4.7% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are usually a sign that the company's leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Quest Diagnostics Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 20th. Investors of record on Monday, April 6th will be paid a $0.86 dividend. This represents a $3.44 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.8%. This is a positive change from Quest Diagnostics's previous quarterly dividend of $0.80. The ex-dividend date is Monday, April 6th. Quest Diagnostics's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 39.31%.

Insider Activity at Quest Diagnostics

In related news, SVP Michael E. Prevoznik sold 3,878 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $206.21, for a total value of $799,682.38. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 37,557 shares in the company, valued at $7,744,628.97. This trade represents a 9.36% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, SVP Patrick Plewman sold 2,855 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $206.21, for a total transaction of $588,729.55. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 15,198 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,133,979.58. This trade represents a 15.81% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold 24,083 shares of company stock worth $4,945,262 over the last three months. 8.16% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Quest Diagnostics

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in DGX. Brighton Jones LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics in the fourth quarter valued at about $323,000. Cresset Asset Management LLC lifted 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 valued at $719,000 after purchasing an additional 176 shares during the period. Gabelli Funds LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics in the second quarter valued at about $287,000. Bank of Nova Scotia lifted its stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 7.2% in the second quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia now owns 14,339 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $2,576,000 after purchasing an additional 962 shares during the period. Finally, Daiwa Securities Group Inc. raised its position in Quest Diagnostics by 17.1% during the second quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 18,599 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $3,341,000 after acquiring an additional 2,718 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 88.06% of the company's stock.

About Quest Diagnostics

Quest Diagnostics NYSE: DGX is a leading provider of diagnostic information services that supports clinical decision-making for patients, physicians and healthcare organizations. The company operates a network of clinical laboratories and patient service centers that perform a broad range of laboratory tests and diagnostic assays used in routine care, disease diagnosis, monitoring and screening.

Its services span core clinical laboratory testing, anatomic pathology, molecular and genomic diagnostics, infectious disease testing and toxicology.

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