Agilent Technologies (NYSE:A) Sets New 12-Month High – Here’s Why

Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A) shares hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Wednesday. The company traded as high as $182.99 and last traded at $181.0470, with a volume of 684,125 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $177.49.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently commented on A. Citigroup lifted their price target on Agilent Technologies from $185.00 to $190.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 27th. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Agilent Technologies from $175.00 to $195.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 7th. Piper Sandler lifted their target price on shares of Agilent Technologies from $150.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, August 28th. Evercore boosted their target price on shares of Agilent Technologies from $148.00 to $178.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 7th. Finally, Bank of America boosted their target price on shares of Agilent Technologies from $180.00 to $190.00 in a report on Friday, October 9th. Eighteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $181.45.

Agilent Technologies Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50, a quick ratio of 1.56 and a current ratio of 2.05. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $163.74 and its 200 day moving average price is $136.27. The company has a market capitalization of $51.12 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.70, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.90 and a beta of 1.21.

Agilent Technologies (NYSE:A) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 26th. The medical research company reported $1.62 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 the consensus estimate of $1.84 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.37 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 8.1% compared to the same quarter last year. 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. As a group, equities analysts expect that Agilent Technologies, Inc. will post 6.20 EPS for the current year.

Agilent Technologies Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Activity

In other Agilent Technologies news, Director Mikael Dolsten sold 634 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $151.38, for a total transaction of $95,974.92. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 4,924 shares in the company, valued at approximately $745,395.12. This represents a 11.41% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Agilent Technologies

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Investment Research Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of Agilent Technologies by 1.8% during the third quarter. Investment Research Partners LLC now owns 3,646 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $628,000 after purchasing an additional 63 shares in the last quarter. Greenleaf Trust raised its stake in Agilent Technologies by 0.8% in the second quarter. Greenleaf Trust now owns 8,117 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $1,078,000 after purchasing an additional 68 shares in the last quarter. Plan A Wealth LLC lifted its position in Agilent Technologies by 1.9% during the third quarter. Plan A Wealth LLC now owns 3,567 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $615,000 after purchasing an additional 68 shares during the last quarter. Nilsine Partners LLC lifted its position in Agilent Technologies by 0.8% during the second quarter. Nilsine Partners LLC now owns 9,650 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $1,282,000 after purchasing an additional 72 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Aspiriant LLC lifted its position in Agilent Technologies by 2.0% during the third quarter. Aspiriant LLC now owns 3,786 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $652,000 after purchasing an additional 73 shares during the last quarter.

About Agilent Technologies

Agilent Technologies, Inc is a global provider of analytical laboratory instruments, software, services and consumables. The company serves customers in the pharmaceutical, biotechnology, chemical, food, environmental, energy and academic research sectors, as well as diagnostic and clinical laboratories.

Agilent’s offerings include liquid and gas chromatography systems, mass spectrometry instruments, spectroscopy and atomic instruments, laboratory automation products, genomic and cell analysis solutions, and related software.