3,347,921 Shares in Agilent Technologies, Inc. $A Acquired by Norges Bank

Norges Bank bought a new stake in Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A) in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 3,347,921 shares of the medical research company’s stock, valued at approximately $395,088,000. Norges Bank owned 1.18% of Agilent Technologies at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in A. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its holdings in Agilent Technologies by 10.7% during the 2nd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 13,227,387 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $1,560,964,000 after purchasing an additional 1,273,994 shares during the last quarter. Generation Investment Management LLP boosted its stake in shares of Agilent Technologies by 19.8% during the 1st quarter. Generation Investment Management LLP now owns 4,983,556 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $582,976,000 after buying an additional 824,243 shares during the last quarter. M&G PLC grew its position in shares of Agilent Technologies by 255.2% during the second quarter. M&G PLC now owns 893,121 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $105,388,000 after buying an additional 641,698 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC increased its stake in shares of Agilent Technologies by 18.7% in the first quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 3,836,105 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $448,748,000 after buying an additional 604,124 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Agilent Technologies by 1.8% in 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 last quarter. 87.41% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have weighed in on the stock. TD Cowen raised their price objective on shares of Agilent Technologies from $150.00 to $162.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 14th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Agilent Technologies from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, October 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on Agilent Technologies from $150.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on Agilent Technologies from $165.00 to $180.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 25th. Finally, Citigroup raised their price objective on Agilent Technologies from $165.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 25th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have assigned a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $161.08.

Insider Activity at Agilent Technologies

In other news, CEO Padraig Mcdonnell sold 911 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 18th. The stock was 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 $4,591,987.92. This represents a 2.76% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.26% of the company’s stock.

Agilent Technologies Stock Down 0.6%

A stock opened at $153.48 on Monday. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $142.44 and its two-hundred day moving average is $126.88. The company has a market capitalization 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, Inc. has a 52 week low of $96.43 and a 52 week high of $160.27. The company has a current ratio of 2.25, a quick ratio of 1.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53.

Agilent Technologies (NYSE:A) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 17.97% and a return on equity of 25.51%. The business had revenue of $1.86 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.83 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.46 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.4% on a year-over-year basis. 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, analysts forecast that Agilent Technologies, Inc. will post 5.58 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Agilent Technologies Increases Dividend

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

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.