Leerink Partnrs Has Negative Outlook of DGX Q2 Earnings

Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) – Analysts at Leerink Partnrs lowered their Q2 2025 earnings per share estimates for Quest Diagnostics in a research report issued to clients and investors on Friday, April 4th. Leerink Partnrs analyst M. Cherny now expects that the medical research company will earn $2.58 per share for the quarter, down from their prior estimate of $2.59. 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’ Q3 2025 earnings at $2.54 EPS.

Several other analysts also recently weighed in on the company. Truist Financial lifted their price objective on Quest Diagnostics from $172.00 to $182.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Piper Sandler reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $180.00 price objective (up previously from $165.00) on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. UBS Group raised their target price on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $166.00 to $170.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Mizuho increased their price objective on Quest Diagnostics from $177.00 to $178.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Bank of America boosted their target price on Quest Diagnostics from $179.00 to $182.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $180.60.

Quest Diagnostics Stock Up 0.2 %

Shares of NYSE DGX opened at $164.53 on Monday. Quest Diagnostics has a 52-week low of $125.42 and a 52-week high of $178.87. The firm has a market capitalization of $18.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.39, a PEG ratio of 2.16 and a beta of 0.78. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $168.31 and a 200 day moving average price of $159.62. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.82, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a current ratio of 1.10.

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

Quest Diagnostics Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 21st. Shareholders of record on Monday, April 7th will be paid a dividend of $0.80 per share. This represents a $3.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.94%. This is a boost from Quest Diagnostics’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. The ex-dividend date is Monday, April 7th. Quest Diagnostics’s payout ratio is presently 41.61%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Vicky B. Gregg sold 1,250 shares of Quest Diagnostics stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $164.57, for a total transaction of $205,712.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 16,867 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,775,802.19. This trade represents a 6.90 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO J. E. Davis sold 39,191 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 2nd. The stock was 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 in the company, valued at approximately $21,499,370.58. This represents a 23.49 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 55,903 shares of company stock valued at $9,460,221 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.79% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Quest Diagnostics

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 1,637,525 shares during the period. State Street Corp grew its position in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 1.4% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 5,263,231 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $817,117,000 after purchasing an additional 70,578 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 2.8% in the fourth 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. lifted its position in Quest Diagnostics by 60.4% during the fourth quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 2,433,913 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $367,180,000 after buying an additional 916,898 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Grantham Mayo Van Otterloo & Co. LLC boosted its stake in Quest Diagnostics by 1.2% during the fourth 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 buying an additional 26,214 shares during the last quarter. 88.06% of the stock is currently 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.