Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) Board Approves Share Buyback Plan

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) announced that its board has authorized a stock buyback program on Tuesday, February 10th, RTT News reports. The company plans to buyback $1.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the medical research company to repurchase up to 4.7% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are usually an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Quest Diagnostics Stock Performance

Shares of Quest Diagnostics stock opened at $204.96 on Wednesday. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $181.77 and a 200 day simple moving average of $181.77. Quest Diagnostics has a one year low of $157.20 and a one year high of $207.05. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71, a current ratio of 1.13 and a quick ratio of 1.04. The firm has a market capitalization of $22.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.06, a PEG ratio of 2.42 and a beta of 0.66.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 10th. The medical research company reported $2.42 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.35 by $0.07. The business had revenue of $2.81 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.75 billion. Quest Diagnostics had a return on equity of 15.47% and a net margin of 8.91%.The company’s quarterly revenue was up 7.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.23 earnings per share. Quest Diagnostics has set its FY 2026 guidance at 9.45-9.650 EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that Quest Diagnostics will post 9.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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 paid a dividend of $0.86 per share. This is a boost from Quest Diagnostics’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.80. The ex-dividend date is Monday, April 6th. This represents a $3.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.7%. Quest Diagnostics’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 37.56%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on DGX shares. Leerink Partners boosted their target price on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $203.00 to $210.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 21st. Barclays raised Quest Diagnostics from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $210.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Friday, January 30th. Truist Financial boosted their price objective on Quest Diagnostics from $195.00 to $205.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 22nd. Citigroup raised their target price on Quest Diagnostics from $190.00 to $215.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $220.00 target price on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a report on Tuesday. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Quest Diagnostics presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $201.00.

More Quest Diagnostics News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Q4 results beat consensus: adjusted EPS of $2.42 topped estimates and revenue of $2.81B was up 7.1% year-over-year, driven by stronger test volumes and price/mix. This is the core catalyst cited by multiple outlets. Yahoo Finance: Q4 Highlights
• Positive Sentiment: Shareholder-return boost: board raised the quarterly dividend 7.5% to $0.86 and authorized an additional $1.0B in share repurchases — a clear positive for income and buyback-driven EPS support. PR Newswire: Dividend & Repurchase
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst/market reaction: shares hit a 52‑week high and Citigroup raised its price target to $215 (neutral rating), reflecting positive reception to the quarter and capital return actions. MSN: 52-week high Benzinga: Citi PT raise
• Positive Sentiment: Longer-term growth potential: CEO comments on developing blood-based Alzheimer’s diagnostics highlight a potential new growth avenue if tests gain clinical adoption and reimbursement. YouTube: CEO on Alzheimer’s testing
• Neutral Sentiment: Investor materials and call: company released the earnings press release, slide deck and full transcript; management reiterated drivers (volume growth, pricing, cost control) that investors will parse for sustainability. Press Release / Slide Deck
• Negative Sentiment: Guidance is mixed: FY2026 reported diluted EPS guidance of $9.45–$9.65 (and adjusted EPS ranges detailed in the release) may sit below some street estimates, creating a risk that analysts trim expectations despite the quarter. PR Newswire: Q4 Results & Guidance

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Quest Diagnostics news, SVP Mark E. Delaney sold 7,946 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $187.35, for a total value of $1,488,683.10. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 7,530 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,410,745.50. This trade represents a 51.34% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Vicky B. Gregg sold 1,250 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $191.76, for a total transaction of $239,700.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 17,037 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,267,015.12. The trade was a 6.84% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 64,289 shares of company stock worth $12,318,360. Insiders own 8.16% of the company’s stock.

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.