Q3 EPS Estimate for Quest Diagnostics Reduced by Analyst

Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) – Equities researchers at Zacks Research reduced their Q3 2026 EPS estimates for Quest Diagnostics in a research note issued on Tuesday, November 12th. Zacks Research analyst R. Department now anticipates that the medical research company will earn $2.61 per share for the quarter, down from their previous forecast of $2.62. The consensus estimate for Quest Diagnostics’ current full-year earnings is $8.90 per share.

DGX has been the topic of a number of other reports. Mizuho lifted their target price on Quest Diagnostics from $160.00 to $174.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Citigroup boosted their target price on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $165.00 to $185.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Piper Sandler raised their price target on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $150.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, October 28th. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $154.00 to $168.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, Robert W. Baird raised Quest Diagnostics from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $157.00 to $182.00 in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $164.58.

Quest Diagnostics Stock Performance

Shares of Quest Diagnostics stock opened at $160.39 on Friday. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $153.84 and its 200 day simple moving average is $147.26. 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 has a 12 month low of $123.04 and a 12 month high of $162.59. The firm has a market capitalization of $17.90 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.56, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 0.89.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The medical research company reported $2.30 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.26 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $2.49 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.43 billion. Quest Diagnostics had a net margin of 8.82% and a return on equity of 15.25%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 8.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.22 EPS.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Quest Diagnostics

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Barclays PLC grew its position in Quest Diagnostics by 35.9% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 298,922 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $46,407,000 after buying an additional 78,980 shares in the last quarter. SGL Investment Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics during the 3rd quarter valued at about $4,167,000. MML Investors Services LLC grew its holdings in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 2.7% during the third quarter. MML Investors Services LLC now owns 3,983 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $618,000 after purchasing an additional 106 shares in the last quarter. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC increased its position in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 24.1% in the third quarter. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC now owns 19,737 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $3,064,000 after purchasing an additional 3,837 shares during the last quarter. Finally, National Bank of Canada FI raised its stake in Quest Diagnostics by 163.3% in the third quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 81,884 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $12,712,000 after purchasing an additional 50,780 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 88.06% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Quest Diagnostics

In other news, SVP Karthik Kuppusamy sold 1,775 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $156.92, for a total value of $278,533.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 9,734 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,527,459.28. This trade represents a 15.42 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CAO Michael J. Deppe sold 18,755 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $154.05, for a total transaction of $2,889,207.75. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 34,941 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,382,661.05. This represents a 34.93 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 22,520 shares of company stock valued at $3,472,728 in the last quarter. 0.79% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Quest Diagnostics Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 29th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, January 14th will be paid a $0.75 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, January 14th. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.87%. Quest Diagnostics’s dividend payout ratio is currently 40.32%.

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.