Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) Upgraded to Buy at Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a report released on Saturday morning.

DGX has been the subject of several other research reports. Citigroup increased their price objective on Quest Diagnostics from $190.00 to $215.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 10th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their target price on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $215.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 10th. UBS Group upped their price target on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $190.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 11th. Evercore set a $220.00 price objective on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a research report on Wednesday, February 11th. Finally, Truist Financial boosted their price objective 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. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $210.29.

Quest Diagnostics Price Performance

NYSE:DGX opened at $199.37 on Friday. Quest Diagnostics has a 52-week low of $157.20 and a 52-week high of $213.50. The company has a market cap of $21.90 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.79, a P/E/G ratio of 2.57 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 stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $191.66 and its 200 day simple moving average is $185.76.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 10th. The medical research company reported $2.42 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.35 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $2.81 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.75 billion. Quest Diagnostics had a return on equity of 15.57% and a net margin of 8.99%.The business’s quarterly revenue was up 7.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.23 earnings per share. Quest Diagnostics has set its FY 2026 guidance at 9.45-9.650 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Quest Diagnostics will post 9.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Quest Diagnostics declared that its board has approved a share buyback program on Tuesday, February 10th that authorizes the company to buyback $1.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the medical research company to purchase up to 4.7% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are usually an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Quest Diagnostics Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 20th. Shareholders of record on Monday, April 6th will be issued a dividend of $0.86 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, April 6th. This represents a $3.44 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.7%. This is a positive change from Quest Diagnostics’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.80. Quest Diagnostics’s payout ratio is 36.57%.

Insider Activity at Quest Diagnostics

In other news, SVP Patrick Plewman sold 5,662 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $204.00, for a total value of $1,155,048.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 15,381 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,137,724. This represents a 26.91% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, SVP Michael E. Prevoznik sold 3,878 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $206.21, for a total transaction of $799,682.38. Following the sale, the senior vice president owned 37,557 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,744,628.97. This represents a 9.36% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold 24,083 shares of company stock valued at $4,945,262 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 8.16% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Quest Diagnostics

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Brighton Jones LLC bought a new position in shares of Quest Diagnostics during the fourth quarter worth approximately $323,000. AlphaQuest LLC boosted its stake in Quest Diagnostics by 18,400.0% in the 2nd quarter. AlphaQuest LLC now owns 185 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 184 shares during the period. Crestwood Advisors Group LLC acquired a new position in Quest Diagnostics in the 2nd quarter valued at $221,000. Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp bought a new position in Quest Diagnostics during the 2nd quarter worth $81,000. Finally, Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 4.3% during the second quarter. Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 45,601 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $8,180,000 after buying an additional 1,861 shares in the last quarter. 88.06% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Trending Headlines about Quest Diagnostics

Here are the key news stories impacting Quest Diagnostics this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Zacks Research expects higher Q4/near-term earnings for Quest, which supports the company’s fundamentals and could be a near-term tailwind if results and guidance confirm those estimates. Zacks Research Expects Higher Earnings for Quest Diagnostics
• Neutral Sentiment: Equity analysts have set/updated expectations for DGX Q4 earnings (consensus estimates being monitored ahead of the print); this keeps focus on results and guide as the primary near-term catalysts. Equities Analysts Set Expectations for DGX Q4 Earnings
• Neutral Sentiment: Options traders are driving implied volatility higher on DGX, indicating the market is pricing a larger-than-normal move around upcoming news (increases trading costs and can amplify share moves in either direction). Implied Volatility Surging for Quest Diagnostics Stock Options
• Negative Sentiment: Multiple senior executives completed sizable stock sales this week (SVPs and an EVP sold shares at ~ $204–$206 each). Combined disclosed sales total roughly $3.07M and represented single-digit to mid-teens percentage reductions in holdings — a negative signal that likely pressured the stock given concentration of selling among insiders. SEC Filing (Form 4) — Karthik Kuppusamy

Quest Diagnostics Company Profile

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.