Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) Price Target Raised to $229.00 at Robert W. Baird

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) had its price target lifted by Robert W. Baird from $224.00 to $229.00 in a research report sent to investors on Wednesday morning,Benzinga reports. Robert W. Baird currently has a neutral rating on the medical research company’s stock.

A number of other research analysts have also issued reports on DGX. UBS Group boosted their price objective on Quest Diagnostics from $190.00 to $210.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 11th. Evercore set a $225.00 price objective on Quest Diagnostics in a research report on Tuesday. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Truist Financial boosted their price objective on Quest Diagnostics from $220.00 to $225.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, Mizuho boosted their price objective on Quest Diagnostics from $210.00 to $235.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 12th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $214.54.

Quest Diagnostics Trading Down 0.6%

NYSE:DGX opened at $203.77 on Wednesday. Quest Diagnostics has a 12-month low of $164.65 and a 12-month high of $213.50. The firm has a market capitalization of $22.55 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.52, a P/E/G ratio of 2.63 and a beta of 0.66. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67, a current ratio of 1.18 and a quick ratio of 0.96. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $200.42 and a 200 day simple moving average of $189.13.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 21st. The medical research company reported $2.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.37 by $0.13. Quest Diagnostics had a return on equity of 15.60% and a net margin of 9.07%.The business had revenue of $2.90 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.83 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.94 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Quest Diagnostics has set its FY 2026 guidance at 10.630-10.830 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that Quest Diagnostics will post 10.67 EPS for the current year.

Quest Diagnostics announced that its board has approved a share buyback program on Tuesday, February 10th that permits the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the medical research company to reacquire up to 4.7% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are generally a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Quest Diagnostics Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 20th. Stockholders of record on Monday, April 6th were paid a $0.86 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, April 6th. This represents a $3.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.7%. This is a boost from Quest Diagnostics’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.80. Quest Diagnostics’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 39.31%.

Insider Transactions at Quest Diagnostics

In other news, SVP Karthik Kuppusamy sold 2,628 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $204.86, for a total value of $538,372.08. Following the sale, the senior vice president owned 13,441 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,753,523.26. The trade was a 16.35% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, SVP Patrick Plewman sold 2,855 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $206.21, for a total value of $588,729.55. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 15,198 shares in the company, valued at $3,133,979.58. This represents a 15.81% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold a total of 24,083 shares of company stock worth $4,945,262 over the last 90 days. 8.16% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Quest Diagnostics

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Caldwell Trust Co raised its stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 18.5% in the 1st quarter. Caldwell Trust Co now owns 12,889 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $2,526,000 after buying an additional 2,010 shares in the last quarter. Braun Stacey Associates Inc. raised its stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 1.9% in the 1st quarter. Braun Stacey Associates Inc. now owns 156,832 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $30,736,000 after buying an additional 2,978 shares in the last quarter. ABN AMRO Bank N.V. raised its stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 6.4% in the 1st quarter. ABN AMRO Bank N.V. now owns 94,640 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $18,736,000 after buying an additional 5,658 shares in the last quarter. OLD National Bancorp IN raised its stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 8.0% in the 1st quarter. OLD National Bancorp IN now owns 23,951 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $4,694,000 after buying an additional 1,783 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Louisiana State Employees Retirement System bought a new stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics in the 1st quarter worth $1,097,000. Institutional investors own 88.06% of the company’s stock.

Key Stories Impacting Quest Diagnostics

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

• Positive Sentiment: Q1 results beat and guidance raised: DGX reported adjusted EPS of $2.50 and revenue of $2.90B (≈+9.2% YoY) and raised FY2026 adjusted EPS guidance to $10.63–$10.83, supporting the bullish case for steady routine testing demand. Quest Diagnostics Reports First Quarter 2026 Financial Results
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst price‑target lifts and favorable notes: Multiple firms bumped targets (Barclays to $230/overweight; Baird to $229; UBS to $220; Truist to $225), reflecting confidence that beat + raised outlook justify higher valuations. These Analysts Boost Their Forecasts On Quest Diagnostics After Better-Than-Expected Earnings
• Positive Sentiment: Operational drivers: Management cited strong organic volume, partnerships, consumer testing momentum and AI initiatives as contributors to revenue growth and the improved outlook. Quest Diagnostics Gains Steam With Partnerships, Lifts Outlook
• Neutral Sentiment: Analyst/strategy writeups: Coverage pieces (Zacks, Yahoo/Seeking Alpha) frame DGX as a momentum/value story post‑earnings — useful context but not new company guidance. Here’s Why Quest Diagnostics (DGX) is a Strong Momentum Stock
• Neutral Sentiment: Earnings call materials and transcript are available for detail on margins, volumes and segment commentary if you want to validate management’s assumptions. Quest Diagnostics Q1 2026 Earnings Call Transcript
• Negative Sentiment: Insider and institutional trimming: Reports show significant insider sales and large institutional position reductions by some managers in recent quarters — these can cap near‑term upside and fuel profit‑taking. Quest Diagnostics rises after Q1 earnings beat and higher 2026 outlook
• Negative Sentiment: Market reaction/technical pressure: The stock surged on the beat and guidance lift; the current pullback with above‑average volume looks like intraday profit‑taking and rotation despite fundamentally positive news.

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.