Leerink Partnrs Issues Negative Estimate for DGX Earnings

Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) – Research analysts at Leerink Partnrs decreased their Q1 2025 EPS estimates for shares of Quest Diagnostics in a research note issued on Thursday, January 30th. Leerink Partnrs analyst M. Cherny now anticipates that the medical research company will earn $2.21 per share for the quarter, down from their previous estimate of $2.23. Leerink Partnrs currently has a “Strong-Buy” rating on the stock. The consensus estimate for Quest Diagnostics’ current full-year earnings is $8.90 per share. Leerink Partnrs also issued estimates for Quest Diagnostics’ Q2 2025 earnings at $2.61 EPS, Q4 2025 earnings at $2.44 EPS, FY2025 earnings at $9.74 EPS, FY2026 earnings at $10.48 EPS, FY2027 earnings at $11.52 EPS and FY2028 earnings at $12.66 EPS.

A number of other analysts have also issued reports on the stock. Mizuho boosted their price target on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $160.00 to $174.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Truist Financial upped their target price on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $172.00 to $182.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday. Leerink Partners upgraded shares of Quest Diagnostics from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $169.00 to $174.00 in a report on Monday, January 6th. Jefferies Financial Group restated a “buy” rating and issued a $185.00 price target (up previously from $175.00) on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upgraded Quest Diagnostics from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $145.00 to $172.00 in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Quest Diagnostics currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $174.00.

Quest Diagnostics Price Performance

DGX opened at $162.77 on Monday. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $155.40 and its 200 day moving average price is $153.66. Quest Diagnostics has a 12-month low of $123.04 and a 12-month high of $167.08. The firm has a market cap of $18.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.88, a PEG ratio of 2.43 and a beta of 0.90. The company has a current ratio of 1.25, a quick ratio of 1.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.83.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The medical research company reported $2.23 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.19 by $0.04. Quest Diagnostics had a return on equity of 15.25% and a net margin of 8.82%.

Quest Diagnostics Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 21st. Stockholders of record on Monday, April 7th will be issued a $0.80 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, April 7th. This represents a $3.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.97%. This is an increase from Quest Diagnostics’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. Quest Diagnostics’s dividend payout ratio is presently 40.32%.

Insider Transactions at Quest Diagnostics

In other news, CAO Michael J. Deppe sold 18,755 shares of Quest Diagnostics stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $154.05, for a total transaction of $2,889,207.75. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 34,941 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,382,661.05. The trade was a 34.93 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.79% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Quest Diagnostics

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in DGX. Mizuho Securities USA LLC increased 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 worth $70,080,000 after buying an additional 442,835 shares during the period. BNP Paribas Financial Markets increased its holdings in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 25.4% in the 3rd quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 747,298 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $116,018,000 after acquiring an additional 151,365 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its stake in Quest Diagnostics by 535.3% during the 4th quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 128,440 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $19,376,000 after purchasing an additional 108,224 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its stake in Quest Diagnostics by 23.8% during the 4th quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 543,472 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $81,994,000 after purchasing an additional 104,495 shares during the period. Finally, Barclays PLC grew its position in Quest Diagnostics by 35.9% during the 3rd 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 last quarter. 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.