Agilent Technologies (NYSE:A) Hits New 12-Month High – Still a Buy?

Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A) reached a new 52-week high during trading on Monday. The stock traded as high as $174.77 and last traded at $174.67, with a volume of 488742 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $172.79.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages recently commented on A. Sanford C. Bernstein lifted their target price on shares of Agilent Technologies from $155.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, August 27th. HSBC reduced their price objective on Agilent Technologies from $180.00 to $165.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, June 3rd. Weiss Ratings upgraded Agilent Technologies from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research note on Friday, September 11th. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their price target on Agilent Technologies from $155.00 to $185.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 27th. Finally, Bank of America upped their price objective on Agilent Technologies from $155.00 to $180.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a 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 issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Agilent Technologies currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $170.33.

Agilent Technologies Price 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 company has a market cap of $49.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.60, a PEG ratio of 2.63 and a beta of 1.24. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $149.16 and a 200 day moving average price of $131.50.

Agilent Technologies (NYSE:A) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, August 26th. The medical research company reported $1.62 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.49 by $0.13. Agilent Technologies had a net margin of 19.53% and a return on equity of 24.45%. The firm had revenue of $1.88 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.84 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.37 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly 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. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Agilent Technologies, Inc. will post 6.2 earnings per share for the current year.

Agilent Technologies Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 28th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, October 6th will be paid a $0.2550 dividend. 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 other news, Director Mikael Dolsten sold 634 shares of the business’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 in the company, valued at approximately $745,395.12. The trade was a 11.41% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link.

Institutional Trading of Agilent Technologies

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. State Street Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Agilent Technologies by 0.7% in the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 12,854,230 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $1,710,658,000 after purchasing an additional 89,598 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its stake in shares of Agilent Technologies by 2.7% in the second quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 7,454,686 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $990,206,000 after purchasing an additional 198,253 shares during the last quarter. Deutsche Bank AG raised its stake in shares of Agilent Technologies by 17.1% in the second quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 7,008,634 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $930,957,000 after purchasing an additional 1,024,516 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Agilent Technologies by 87.4% in the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 5,233,964 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $695,227,000 after purchasing an additional 2,440,360 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Agilent Technologies in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $549,158,000.

About Agilent Technologies

Agilent Technologies, Inc is a global provider of analytical instruments, laboratory software, consumables and services used by organizations in the life sciences, diagnostics, pharmaceutical, chemical, environmental and food industries. Its solutions help customers analyze the composition and quality of substances, develop and manufacture products, and conduct research and testing.

The company’s offerings include liquid and gas chromatography systems, mass spectrometry instruments, spectroscopy and atomic analysis equipment, automated electrophoresis systems, laboratory informatics software, columns and other consumables.