Agilent Technologies, Inc. $A Shares Sold by Scharf Investments LLC

Scharf Investments LLC decreased its stake in shares of Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A) by 6.4% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 531,223 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 36,593 shares during the quarter. Agilent Technologies comprises 1.9% of Scharf Investments LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 27th biggest position. Scharf Investments LLC owned approximately 0.19% of Agilent Technologies worth $72,285,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Capital A Wealth Management LLC increased its position in shares of Agilent Technologies by 10,600.0% in the 2nd quarter. Capital A Wealth Management LLC now owns 214 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 212 shares during the period. Board of the Pension Protection Fund purchased a new position in Agilent Technologies in the 4th quarter worth $27,000. Davis Capital Management acquired a new stake in Agilent Technologies during the 3rd quarter worth about $28,000. Physician Wealth Advisors Inc. grew its stake in Agilent Technologies by 490.0% during the 3rd quarter. Physician Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 236 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 196 shares during the last quarter. Finally, State of Wyoming purchased a new stake in Agilent Technologies during the 2nd quarter valued at about $35,000.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on Agilent Technologies from $175.00 to $165.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 26th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Agilent Technologies in a report on Monday, December 29th. TD Cowen reduced their price target on shares of Agilent Technologies from $170.00 to $157.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 26th. HSBC assumed coverage on shares of Agilent Technologies in a research note on Tuesday, January 20th. They set a “buy” rating and a $180.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Evercore upgraded shares of Agilent Technologies from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $155.00 to $160.00 in a research note on Monday, January 5th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have issued a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $161.20.

Agilent Technologies Stock Up 1.7%

Agilent Technologies stock opened at $113.90 on Wednesday. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $122.64 and its 200 day moving average price is $134.79. The company has a quick ratio of 1.59, a current ratio of 2.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44. The firm has a market cap of $32.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.14, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.36 and a beta of 1.31. Agilent Technologies, Inc. has a 52 week low of $96.43 and a 52 week high of $160.27.

Agilent Technologies (NYSE:A) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 25th. The medical research company reported $1.36 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.37 by ($0.01). Agilent Technologies had a net margin of 18.26% and a return on equity of 24.49%. The company had revenue of $1.80 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.81 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.31 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 7.0% compared to the same quarter last year. 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 anticipate that Agilent Technologies, Inc. will post 5.58 earnings per share for the current year.

Agilent Technologies Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 22nd. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 31st will be issued a dividend of $0.255 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 31st. This represents a $1.02 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.9%. Agilent Technologies’s dividend payout ratio is 22.52%.

Agilent Technologies Company 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.