Korea Investment CORP Lowers Holdings in Agilent Technologies, Inc. $A

Korea Investment CORP decreased its holdings in Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A) by 1.6% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 221,103 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 3,546 shares during the period. Korea Investment CORP owned 0.08% of Agilent Technologies worth $26,092,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Stone House Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Agilent Technologies in the first quarter worth $30,000. Ransom Advisory Ltd bought a new position in shares of Agilent Technologies during the 1st quarter valued at about $32,000. Central Pacific Bank Trust Division purchased a new position in shares of Agilent Technologies during the second quarter valued at about $33,000. Zions Bancorporation National Association UT bought a new stake in shares of Agilent Technologies in the first quarter worth about $38,000. Finally, Costello Asset Management INC purchased a new stake in shares of Agilent Technologies in the first quarter worth about $47,000. Institutional investors own 87.41% of the company’s stock.

Agilent Technologies Price Performance

Agilent Technologies stock opened at $153.48 on Friday. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $142.44 and a two-hundred day moving average of $126.69. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53, a current ratio of 2.25 and a quick ratio of 1.71. Agilent Technologies, Inc. has a 1 year low of $96.43 and a 1 year high of $160.27. The stock has a market cap of $43.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.03, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.67 and a beta of 1.29.

Agilent Technologies (NYSE:A) last issued its earnings results on Monday, November 24th. The medical research company reported $1.59 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.58 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $1.86 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.83 billion. Agilent Technologies had a return on equity of 25.51% and a net margin of 17.97%.Agilent Technologies’s revenue was up 9.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.46 EPS. Agilent Technologies has set its Q1 2026 guidance at 1.350-1.380 EPS. FY 2026 guidance at 5.860-6.000 EPS. On average, research analysts forecast that Agilent Technologies, Inc. will post 5.58 earnings per share for the current year.

Agilent Technologies Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 28th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, January 6th will be paid a dividend of $0.255 per share. This is a boost from Agilent Technologies’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. This represents a $1.02 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, January 6th. Agilent Technologies’s payout ratio is 22.32%.

Insider Transactions at Agilent Technologies

In related news, CEO Padraig Mcdonnell sold 12,490 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $150.00, for a total value of $1,873,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 33,448 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,017,200. The trade was a 27.19% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 0.26% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on A. UBS Group upped their price objective on Agilent Technologies from $170.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday. Bank of America lifted their price objective on shares of Agilent Technologies from $150.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Barclays increased their price target on shares of Agilent Technologies from $145.00 to $165.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday. TD Cowen lifted their price target on Agilent Technologies from $150.00 to $162.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 14th. Finally, Citigroup boosted their price objective on shares of Agilent Technologies from $165.00 to $185.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have assigned a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Agilent Technologies currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $161.08.

About Agilent Technologies

Agilent Technologies, Inc provides application focused solutions to the life sciences, diagnostics, and applied chemical markets worldwide. The company operates in three segments: Life Sciences and Applied Markets, Diagnostics and Genomics, and Agilent CrossLab. The Life Sciences and Applied Markets segment offers liquid chromatography systems and components; liquid chromatography mass spectrometry systems; gas chromatography systems and components; gas chromatography mass spectrometry systems; inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry instruments; atomic absorption instruments; microwave plasma-atomic emission spectrometry instruments; inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectrometry instruments; raman spectroscopy; cell analysis plate based assays; flow cytometer; real-time cell analyzer; cell imaging systems; microplate reader; laboratory software; information management and analytics; laboratory automation and robotic systems; dissolution testing; and vacuum pumps, and measurement technologies.