Agilent Technologies (NYSE:A) Cut to “Hold” at Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Agilent Technologies (NYSE:A) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research report released on Saturday,Wall Street Zen reports.

Several other equities analysts have also recently issued reports on A. Piper Sandler started coverage on shares of Agilent Technologies in a research note on Thursday, June 11th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $150.00 target price on the stock. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of Agilent Technologies from $160.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 12th. TD Cowen boosted their price objective on shares of Agilent Technologies from $155.00 to $180.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 27th. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of Agilent Technologies from $150.00 to $175.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, August 27th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of Agilent Technologies from $180.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 27th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have assigned a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Agilent Technologies has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $170.33.

Agilent Technologies Stock Performance

Shares of A opened at $171.17 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $48.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.69, a P/E/G ratio of 2.55 and a beta of 1.21. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $153.46 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $133.97. Agilent Technologies has a 12 month low of $108.35 and a 12 month high of $177.05. The company has a current ratio of 2.05, a quick ratio of 1.56 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50.

Agilent Technologies (NYSE:A) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 26th. The medical research company reported $1.62 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.49 by $0.13. Agilent Technologies had a return on equity of 24.45% and a net margin of 19.53%.The firm had revenue of $1.88 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.84 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.37 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 8.1% on a year-over-year basis. Agilent Technologies has set its Q4 2026 guidance at 1.710-1.740 EPS and its FY 2026 guidance at 6.180-6.210 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that Agilent Technologies will post 6.2 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Agilent Technologies Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 28th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, October 6th will be given a dividend of $0.2550 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, October 6th. This represents a $1.02 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.6%. Agilent Technologies’s dividend payout ratio is presently 20.08%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Mikael Dolsten sold 634 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $151.38, for a total value of $95,974.92. Following the transaction, the director owned 4,924 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $745,395.12. This trade represents a 11.41% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link.

Institutional Trading of Agilent Technologies

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Bank of Nova Scotia bought a new position in shares of Agilent Technologies during the 2nd quarter valued at about $58,539,000. Dudley & Shanley Inc. lifted its position in shares of Agilent Technologies by 25.9% in the second quarter. Dudley & Shanley Inc. now owns 69,500 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $9,232,000 after buying an additional 14,300 shares in the last quarter. BIP Wealth LLC bought a new position in Agilent Technologies during the second quarter valued at approximately $834,000. Capricorn Fund Managers Ltd bought a new position in Agilent Technologies during the first quarter valued at approximately $8,161,000. Finally, KBC Group NV grew its holdings in Agilent Technologies by 18.4% during the 2nd quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 81,883 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $10,877,000 after buying an additional 12,719 shares in the last quarter.

Agilent Technologies Company Profile

Agilent Technologies, Inc is an analytical measurement and laboratory technology company serving the life sciences, diagnostics, pharmaceutical, chemical, environmental, food, energy and academic research markets. Its solutions help laboratories analyze the composition, quality and performance of materials, biological samples and other substances.

The company’s products and services include liquid and gas chromatography systems, mass spectrometry instruments, spectroscopy equipment, laboratory automation tools, software, consumables and supplies.