Perpetual Ltd Cuts Stock Holdings in Agilent Technologies, Inc. $A

Perpetual Ltd cut its position in shares of Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A) by 54.8% during the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 13,739 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 16,677 shares during the quarter. Perpetual Ltd’s holdings in Agilent Technologies were worth $1,763,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Wedmont Private Capital raised its position in shares of Agilent Technologies by 2.3% in the third quarter. Wedmont Private Capital now owns 3,630 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $503,000 after acquiring an additional 81 shares during the period. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC raised its holdings 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. M&T Bank Corp boosted its position in Agilent Technologies by 0.4% during the second quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 23,205 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $2,738,000 after purchasing an additional 86 shares in the last quarter. CENTRAL TRUST Co boosted its position in Agilent Technologies by 3.7% during the second quarter. CENTRAL TRUST Co now owns 2,522 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $298,000 after purchasing an additional 89 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Burney Co. grew its holdings in 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 purchasing an additional 90 shares during the period.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Rothschild & Co Redburn initiated coverage on Agilent Technologies in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. They set a “buy” rating and a $165.00 target price on the stock. Robert W. Baird increased their price objective on shares of Agilent Technologies from $142.00 to $165.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 25th. Evercore ISI boosted their target price on shares of Agilent Technologies from $128.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 7th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of Agilent Technologies from $150.00 to $175.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 25th. Finally, Bank of America lifted their price objective on Agilent Technologies from $150.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 25th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have issued a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $161.77.

Agilent Technologies Stock Performance

NYSE:A opened at $137.16 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $38.89 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.01, a P/E/G ratio of 3.98 and a beta of 1.27. Agilent Technologies, Inc. has a twelve month low of $96.43 and a twelve month high of $160.27. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $145.44 and its 200-day moving average price is $130.06. The company has a current ratio of 1.96, a quick ratio of 1.52 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45.

Agilent Technologies (NYSE:A) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, November 24th. The medical research company reported $1.59 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.58 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $1.86 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.83 billion. Agilent Technologies had a net margin of 18.75% and a return on equity of 25.20%. Agilent Technologies’s quarterly revenue was up 9.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.46 EPS. Agilent Technologies has set its Q1 2026 guidance at 1.350-1.380 EPS and its FY 2026 guidance at 5.860-6.000 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Agilent Technologies, Inc. will post 5.58 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Agilent Technologies Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 28th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, January 6th will be issued a $0.255 dividend. This represents a $1.02 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, January 6th. This is an increase from Agilent Technologies’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. Agilent Technologies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 21.66%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Padraig Mcdonnell sold 911 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $143.24, for a total value of $130,491.64. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 32,058 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,591,987.92. This represents a 2.76% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, VP Rodney Gonsalves sold 3,000 shares of Agilent Technologies stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $154.99, for a total transaction of $464,970.00. Following the transaction, the vice president directly owned 31,846 shares in the company, valued at $4,935,811.54. This trade represents a 8.61% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 16,401 shares of company stock valued at $2,468,962 over the last ninety days.

Agilent Technologies Profile

Agilent Technologies is a global provider of scientific instrumentation, consumables, software and services for laboratories across the life sciences, diagnostics and applied chemical markets. The company’s product portfolio includes analytical instruments such as liquid and gas chromatographs, mass spectrometers, spectroscopy systems, and laboratory automation solutions, together with reagents, supplies and informatics tools that support measurement, testing and data analysis workflows. Agilent also offers instrument maintenance, qualification and laboratory services designed to help customers improve productivity and comply with regulatory requirements.

Founded as a corporate spin-off from Hewlett‑Packard in 1999, Agilent has evolved through a combination of strategic restructuring and acquisitions to concentrate on life sciences, diagnostics and applied laboratories.