Jefferies Financial Group Inc. Grows Holdings in Agilent Technologies, Inc. $A

Jefferies Financial Group Inc. raised its position in Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A) by 44.1% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 120,784 shares of the medical research company’s stock after buying an additional 36,993 shares during the period. Jefferies Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Agilent Technologies were worth $16,435,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in A. Brighton Jones LLC increased its holdings in Agilent Technologies by 6.1% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 4,663 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $626,000 after buying an additional 270 shares in the last quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp increased its holdings in Agilent Technologies by 15.9% in the first quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 5,610 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $602,000 after buying an additional 769 shares in the last quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. increased its holdings in Agilent Technologies by 54.8% in the first quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 599 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $70,000 after buying an additional 212 shares in the last quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in Agilent Technologies by 16.5% in the first quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 5,352 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $625,000 after buying an additional 758 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sivia Capital Partners LLC purchased a new position in Agilent Technologies in the second quarter valued at $273,000.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on shares of Agilent Technologies from $180.00 to $160.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, March 3rd. Barclays dropped their target price on shares of Agilent Technologies from $150.00 to $140.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 14th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on shares of Agilent Technologies from $175.00 to $165.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 26th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Agilent Technologies from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, May 9th. Finally, UBS Group dropped their target price on shares of Agilent Technologies from $180.00 to $165.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 26th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $163.71.

Agilent Technologies Stock Performance

A opened at $115.01 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $32.50 billion, a PE ratio of 25.39, a PEG ratio of 2.42 and a beta of 1.22. Agilent Technologies, Inc. has a twelve month low of $107.07 and a twelve month high of $160.27. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $114.77 and its 200 day moving average price is $129.46. The company has a current ratio of 2.07, a quick ratio of 1.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44.

Agilent Technologies (NYSE:A) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 25th. The medical research company reported $1.36 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.37 by ($0.01). The business had revenue of $1.80 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.81 billion. Agilent Technologies had a return on equity of 24.49% and a net margin of 18.26%.The business’s revenue was up 7.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.31 earnings per share. Agilent Technologies has set its FY 2026 guidance at 5.900-6.040 EPS and its Q2 2026 guidance at 1.390-1.420 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Agilent Technologies, Inc. will post 5.95 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Agilent Technologies Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 22nd. Investors of record on Tuesday, June 30th will be given a dividend of $0.255 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, June 30th. This represents a $1.02 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.9%. Agilent Technologies’s payout ratio is presently 22.52%.

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.