Agilent Technologies, Inc. $A Shares Sold by M&G PLC

M&G PLC cut its position in shares of Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A) by 3.1% during the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 695,313 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 21,960 shares during the period. M&G PLC’s holdings in Agilent Technologies were worth $119,594,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Investment Research Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Agilent Technologies by 1.8% in the third quarter. Investment Research Partners LLC now owns 3,646 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $628,000 after buying an additional 63 shares during the period. Greenleaf Trust boosted its stake in Agilent Technologies by 0.8% during the second quarter. Greenleaf Trust now owns 8,117 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $1,078,000 after buying an additional 68 shares in the last quarter. Plan A Wealth LLC boosted its stake in Agilent Technologies by 1.9% during the third quarter. Plan A Wealth LLC now owns 3,567 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $615,000 after buying an additional 68 shares in the last quarter. Nilsine Partners LLC grew its holdings in Agilent Technologies by 0.8% during the second quarter. Nilsine Partners LLC now owns 9,650 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $1,282,000 after acquiring an additional 72 shares during the period. Finally, Aspiriant LLC grew its holdings in Agilent Technologies by 2.0% during the third quarter. Aspiriant LLC now owns 3,786 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $652,000 after acquiring an additional 73 shares during the period.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have commented on A shares. Bank of America boosted their price target on shares of Agilent Technologies from $180.00 to $190.00 in a research report on Friday, October 9th. Robert W. Baird raised their price objective on shares of Agilent Technologies from $180.00 to $195.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 8th. Piper Sandler lifted their price objective on shares of Agilent Technologies from $150.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, August 28th. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of Agilent Technologies from $175.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 13th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price on shares of Agilent Technologies from $170.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 27th. Eighteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Agilent Technologies currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $181.45.

Agilent Technologies Stock Performance

A opened at $180.09 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $50.77 billion, a PE ratio of 35.45, a P/E/G ratio of 2.59 and a beta of 1.24. The company has a quick ratio of 1.56, a current ratio of 2.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $166.45 and a 200-day simple moving average of $137.40. Agilent Technologies, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $108.35 and a fifty-two week high of $182.99.

Agilent Technologies (NYSE:A) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, August 26th. The medical research company reported $1.62 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.49 by $0.13. The business had revenue of $1.88 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.84 billion. Agilent Technologies had a return on equity of 24.45% and a net margin of 19.53%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 8.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.37 EPS. Agilent Technologies has set its Q4 2026 guidance at 1.710-1.740 EPS and its FY 2026 guidance at 6.180-6.210 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that Agilent Technologies, Inc. will post 6.20 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Agilent Technologies Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, October 28th. Investors of record on Tuesday, October 6th were given a $0.2550 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, October 6th. This represents a $1.02 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.6%. Agilent Technologies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 20.08%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Mikael Dolsten sold 634 shares of Agilent Technologies stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $151.38, for a total value of $95,974.92. Following the transaction, the director owned 4,924 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $745,395.12. This trade represents a 11.41% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink.

About Agilent Technologies

Agilent Technologies develops and supplies instruments, software, services and consumables used in laboratories and manufacturing operations. Its offerings support applications in life sciences, diagnostics, chemical analysis, food safety, environmental testing and pharmaceutical research.

The company serves customers worldwide, including pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies, clinical and academic laboratories, and organizations in the chemical, energy and food industries. Its services include laboratory equipment maintenance, technical support and related workflow solutions.

Agilent became an independent company in 1999 through a spin-off from Hewlett-Packard.