Agilent Technologies, Inc. $A is Northwest & Ethical Investments L.P.’s 9th Largest Position

Northwest & Ethical Investments L.P. grew its stake in shares of Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A) by 11.1% during the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 428,545 shares of the medical research company’s stock after buying an additional 42,890 shares during the period. Agilent Technologies comprises 1.3% of Northwest & Ethical Investments L.P.’s portfolio, making the stock its 9th biggest holding. Northwest & Ethical Investments L.P.’s holdings in Agilent Technologies were worth $50,573,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Agilent Technologies by 5.0% in the 2nd quarter. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC now owns 1,818 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $215,000 after purchasing an additional 86 shares during the period. CENTRAL TRUST Co lifted its holdings in shares of Agilent Technologies by 3.7% in the second quarter. CENTRAL TRUST Co now owns 2,522 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $298,000 after buying an additional 89 shares in the last quarter. Burney Co. boosted its position in shares of Agilent Technologies by 4.8% in the second quarter. Burney Co. now owns 1,957 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $231,000 after acquiring an additional 90 shares during the period. Cary Street Partners Financial LLC grew its stake in Agilent Technologies by 2.9% during the first quarter. Cary Street Partners Financial LLC now owns 3,688 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $431,000 after acquiring an additional 103 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC increased its holdings in Agilent Technologies by 1.7% during the 2nd quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 6,443 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $760,000 after acquiring an additional 110 shares during the period. 87.41% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have issued reports on A. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Agilent Technologies in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. UBS Group increased their price objective on Agilent Technologies from $170.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Robert W. Baird boosted their target price on Agilent Technologies from $142.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Evercore ISI upped their target price on Agilent Technologies from $128.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 7th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded Agilent Technologies from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, October 3rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have issued a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Agilent Technologies presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $161.08.

Insider Activity at Agilent Technologies

In other news, CEO Padraig Mcdonnell sold 12,490 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $150.00, for a total value of $1,873,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 33,448 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,017,200. The trade was a 27.19% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.26% of the company’s stock.

Agilent Technologies Stock Up 2.4%

Shares of NYSE:A opened at $157.25 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $44.58 billion, a PE ratio of 36.91, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.67 and a beta of 1.29. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53, a quick ratio of 1.71 and a current ratio of 2.25. Agilent Technologies, Inc. has a 52-week low of $96.43 and a 52-week high of $160.27. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $140.80 and a 200 day moving average of $126.03.

Agilent Technologies (NYSE:A) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, November 24th. The medical research company reported $1.59 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.58 by $0.01. Agilent Technologies had a return on equity of 25.51% and a net margin of 17.97%.The business had revenue of $1.86 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.83 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.46 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.4% on a year-over-year basis. Agilent Technologies has set its Q1 2026 guidance at 1.350-1.380 EPS. FY 2026 guidance at 5.860-6.000 EPS. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Agilent Technologies, Inc. will post 5.58 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Agilent Technologies Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 28th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, January 6th will be given a dividend of $0.255 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, January 6th. This is an increase from Agilent Technologies’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. This represents a $1.02 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.6%. Agilent Technologies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 23.94%.

About Agilent Technologies

Agilent Technologies, Inc provides application focused solutions to the life sciences, diagnostics, and applied chemical markets worldwide. The company operates in three segments: Life Sciences and Applied Markets, Diagnostics and Genomics, and Agilent CrossLab. The Life Sciences and Applied Markets segment offers liquid chromatography systems and components; liquid chromatography mass spectrometry systems; gas chromatography systems and components; gas chromatography mass spectrometry systems; inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry instruments; atomic absorption instruments; microwave plasma-atomic emission spectrometry instruments; inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectrometry instruments; raman spectroscopy; cell analysis plate based assays; flow cytometer; real-time cell analyzer; cell imaging systems; microplate reader; laboratory software; information management and analytics; laboratory automation and robotic systems; dissolution testing; and vacuum pumps, and measurement technologies.