ASO GROUP Ltd Purchases New Stake in Agilent Technologies, Inc. $A

ASO GROUP Ltd purchased a new stake in Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund purchased 6,709 shares of the medical research company’s stock, valued at approximately $913,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of A. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Agilent Technologies in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $549,158,000. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its position in Agilent Technologies by 13.8% during the fourth quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 14,147,601 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $1,925,064,000 after purchasing an additional 1,713,216 shares in the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Agilent Technologies by 424.1% during the second quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 2,041,826 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $240,956,000 after purchasing an additional 1,652,244 shares in the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. boosted its position in Agilent Technologies by 132.2% during the second quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 2,354,111 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $277,807,000 after purchasing an additional 1,340,161 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its position in Agilent Technologies by 42.0% during the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 2,857,820 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $388,864,000 after purchasing an additional 845,688 shares in the last quarter.

Agilent Technologies Stock Down 1.7%

Shares of NYSE:A opened at $129.37 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.62, a current ratio of 2.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43. Agilent Technologies, Inc. has a 52-week low of $108.35 and a 52-week high of $160.27. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $119.94 and its 200-day simple moving average is $127.85. The company has a market capitalization of $36.54 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.98, a P/E/G ratio of 2.34 and a beta of 1.26.

Agilent Technologies (NYSE:A) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 27th. The medical research company reported $1.49 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.41 by $0.08. Agilent Technologies had a return on equity of 24.33% and a net margin of 19.55%.The business had revenue of $1.84 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.80 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.31 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 10.0% on a year-over-year basis. Agilent Technologies has set its FY 2026 guidance at 6.000-6.100 EPS and its Q3 2026 guidance at 1.480-1.500 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Agilent Technologies, Inc. will post 5.99 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Agilent Technologies Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 22nd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, June 30th will be given a $0.255 dividend. This represents a $1.02 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.8%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, June 30th. Agilent Technologies’s dividend payout ratio is currently 20.48%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have commented on A shares. Wolfe Research reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Agilent Technologies in a research report on Tuesday, June 2nd. Royal Bank Of Canada started coverage on Agilent Technologies in a research report on Wednesday, May 27th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $153.00 target price on the stock. Barclays boosted their target price on Agilent Technologies from $140.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 28th. TD Cowen boosted their target price on Agilent Technologies from $147.00 to $155.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 28th. Finally, Piper Sandler started coverage on Agilent Technologies in a research report on Thursday. They set a “neutral” rating and a $150.00 target price on the stock. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have given a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $160.93.

About Agilent Technologies

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.