AXQ Capital LP Makes New Investment in Agilent Technologies, Inc. $A

AXQ Capital LP acquired a new position in Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A) during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor acquired 14,803 shares of the medical research company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,014,000. Agilent Technologies accounts for 0.5% of AXQ Capital LP’s portfolio, making the stock its 27th biggest position.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of A. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Agilent Technologies in the fourth quarter worth about $549,158,000. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its holdings in Agilent Technologies by 13.8% in 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 during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Agilent Technologies by 424.1% in 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 during the period. Ameriprise Financial Inc. grew its holdings in Agilent Technologies by 132.2% in 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 during the period. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC grew its holdings in Agilent Technologies by 3,091.1% in the fourth quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 808,215 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $109,974,000 after purchasing an additional 782,888 shares during the period.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have weighed in on A. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on shares of Agilent Technologies from $180.00 to $160.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, March 3rd. Royal Bank Of Canada began coverage on shares of Agilent Technologies in a report on Wednesday, May 27th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $153.00 price objective on the stock. UBS Group cut their price objective on shares of Agilent Technologies from $180.00 to $165.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 26th. TD Cowen upped their target price on shares of Agilent Technologies from $147.00 to $155.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 28th. Finally, Barclays upped their target price on shares of Agilent Technologies from $140.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 28th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have issued a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Agilent Technologies has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $162.79.

Agilent Technologies Stock Up 0.4%

Shares of Agilent Technologies stock opened at $136.08 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $38.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.33, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.77 and a beta of 1.26. The company’s 50 day moving average is $116.42 and its 200 day moving average is $128.54. Agilent Technologies, Inc. has a twelve month low of $108.35 and a twelve month high of $160.27. 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 (NYSE:A) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 27th. The medical research company reported $1.49 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.41 by $0.08. Agilent Technologies had a net margin of 19.55% and a return on equity of 24.33%. The company had revenue of $1.84 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.80 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.31 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.0% compared to the same quarter last year. 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. Research analysts anticipate that Agilent Technologies, Inc. will post 5.98 EPS for the current year.

Agilent Technologies Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 22nd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, June 30th will be issued a dividend of $0.255 per share. This represents a $1.02 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, June 30th. Agilent Technologies’s dividend payout ratio is currently 20.48%.

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.