Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) Receives $216.58 Consensus Target Price from Analysts

Shares of Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) have received a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the fourteen brokerages that are currently covering the company, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and seven have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 12 month target price among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $216.5833.

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on DGX shares. Mizuho lifted their price objective on Quest Diagnostics from $210.00 to $235.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 12th. Barclays boosted their price target on Quest Diagnostics from $225.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 22nd. UBS Group boosted their price target on Quest Diagnostics from $210.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a “buy” rating and set a $225.00 price target on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a research report on Tuesday, April 21st. Finally, Robert W. Baird boosted their price target on Quest Diagnostics from $224.00 to $229.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 22nd.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Quest Diagnostics news, EVP Catherine T. Doherty sold 5,558 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $206.21, for a total value of $1,146,115.18. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 67,122 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $13,841,227.62. This represents a 7.65% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, SVP Patrick Plewman sold 2,855 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $206.21, for a total value of $588,729.55. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 15,198 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,133,979.58. The trade was a 15.81% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last quarter, insiders sold 18,421 shares of company stock valued at $3,790,214. Company insiders own 0.88% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Quest Diagnostics

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in DGX. Brighton Jones LLC acquired a new position in shares of Quest Diagnostics in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $323,000. Cresset Asset Management LLC raised its position in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 4.6% in the 2nd 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 in the last quarter. Gabelli Funds LLC bought a new stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $287,000. Bank of Nova Scotia increased its holdings in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 7.2% in the 2nd quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia now owns 14,339 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $2,576,000 after acquiring an additional 962 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Daiwa Securities Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 17.1% in the 2nd quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 18,599 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $3,341,000 after acquiring an additional 2,718 shares during the last quarter. 88.06% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Key Stories Impacting Quest Diagnostics

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

• Positive Sentiment: Zacks Research raised FY2026, FY2027, and Q3 2027 EPS estimates for Quest Diagnostics, signaling improved earnings expectations.
• Positive Sentiment: Barron’s highlighted Quest Diagnostics as one of the stocks potentially rebounding after a rough patch, which may support investor interest. Quest Diagnostics, Altria, and 12 More Stocks That Are Coming Back to Life After a Rough Patch
• Neutral Sentiment: A new valuation-focused article examined Quest Diagnostics’ investment narrative, but it did not include a direct corporate catalyst. How The Investment Narrative For Quest Diagnostics (DGX) Is Shifting With New Valuation Work
• Negative Sentiment: Zacks Research cut estimates for Q2 2026, Q2 2027, Q1 2028, and FY2028 EPS, which could pressure sentiment if investors focus on slower longer-term earnings growth.

Quest Diagnostics Stock Performance

NYSE DGX opened at $186.52 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $20.65 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.61, a P/E/G ratio of 2.22 and a beta of 0.60. Quest Diagnostics has a 1-year low of $164.65 and a 1-year high of $213.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67, a current ratio of 1.18 and a quick ratio of 1.08. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $195.72 and its 200-day simple moving average is $189.99.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 21st. The medical research company reported $2.50 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.37 by $0.13. The business had revenue of $2.90 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.83 billion. Quest Diagnostics had a return on equity of 15.60% and a net margin of 9.07%.The company’s revenue was up 9.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.94 EPS. Quest Diagnostics has set its FY 2026 guidance at 10.630-10.830 EPS. Equities analysts predict that Quest Diagnostics will post 10.72 EPS for the current year.

Quest Diagnostics declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback plan on Tuesday, February 10th that allows the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the medical research company to repurchase up to 4.7% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are often an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

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.