Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A) Given Average Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by Brokerages

Shares of Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A) have been assigned a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the sixteen research firms that are covering the stock, MarketBeat.com reports. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, eleven have given a buy recommendation and two have issued a strong buy recommendation on the company. The average twelve-month price objective among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $164.50.

A number of analysts have weighed in on A shares. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Agilent Technologies in a research report on Monday, December 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on Agilent Technologies from $165.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 25th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of Agilent Technologies from $150.00 to $175.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 25th. HSBC assumed coverage on shares of Agilent Technologies in a research note on Tuesday, January 20th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $180.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Citigroup raised their target price on shares of Agilent Technologies from $165.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 25th.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, VP Rodney Gonsalves sold 3,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $154.99, for a total value of $464,970.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president directly owned 31,846 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,935,811.54. This trade represents a 8.61% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Padraig Mcdonnell sold 911 shares of Agilent Technologies stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 in the company, valued at approximately $4,591,987.92. This trade represents a 2.76% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Agilent Technologies

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in Agilent Technologies by 1.8% during the second quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 33,997,845 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $4,012,086,000 after buying an additional 589,219 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its holdings in shares of Agilent Technologies by 13.8% in the 4th 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 acquiring an additional 1,713,216 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its holdings in shares of Agilent Technologies by 4.8% in the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 9,380,521 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $1,203,990,000 after acquiring an additional 433,342 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Agilent Technologies by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 7,425,861 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $1,006,519,000 after purchasing an additional 25,139 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Generation Investment Management LLP boosted its position in Agilent Technologies by 10.1% during the third quarter. Generation Investment Management LLP now owns 6,357,953 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $816,043,000 after purchasing an additional 582,093 shares in the last quarter.

Agilent Technologies Trading Down 3.1%

Shares of Agilent Technologies stock opened at $124.86 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45, a quick ratio of 1.52 and a current ratio of 1.96. The company has a market capitalization of $35.32 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.32, a PEG ratio of 3.74 and a beta of 1.30. Agilent Technologies has a 1 year low of $96.43 and a 1 year high of $160.27. The company’s fifty day moving average is $138.23 and its two-hundred day moving average is $135.25.

Agilent Technologies (NYSE:A) last announced its earnings results 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. Agilent Technologies had a net margin of 18.75% and a return on equity of 25.20%. The business had revenue of $1.86 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.83 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.46 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 9.4% compared to the same quarter last year. 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. Analysts forecast that Agilent Technologies will post 5.58 earnings per share for the current year.

Agilent Technologies Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 22nd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 31st will be issued a $0.255 dividend. This represents a $1.02 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 31st. Agilent Technologies’s payout ratio is currently 22.32%.

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.