Agilent Technologies (NYSE:A) Hits New 52-Week High Following Better-Than-Expected Earnings

Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A)’s share price reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Tuesday following a better than expected earnings announcement. The stock traded as high as $157.98 and last traded at $156.1240, with a volume of 545025 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $153.60.

The medical research company reported $1.59 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.58 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $1.86 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.83 billion. Agilent Technologies had a return on equity of 25.51% and a net margin of 17.97%.The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.46 earnings per share. Agilent Technologies has set its Q1 2026 guidance at 1.350-1.380 EPS. FY 2026 guidance at 5.860-6.000 EPS.

Agilent Technologies Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 28th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, January 6th will be given a $0.255 dividend. This represents a $1.02 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, January 6th. This is a positive change from Agilent Technologies’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. Agilent Technologies’s dividend payout ratio is presently 23.94%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently commented on the company. Evercore ISI lifted their price objective on Agilent Technologies from $128.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 7th. Bank of America upped their target price on shares of Agilent Technologies from $150.00 to $165.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on Agilent Technologies from $140.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, September 15th. Rothschild Redb raised Agilent Technologies to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, Barclays boosted their target price on Agilent Technologies from $125.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 2nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have issued a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Agilent Technologies has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $152.54.

Insider Activity

In other Agilent Technologies news, CEO Padraig Mcdonnell sold 911 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $143.24, for a total transaction of $130,491.64. Following the transaction, 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 position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.26% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Agilent Technologies

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in A. Capital A Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in Agilent Technologies by 10,600.0% in the second 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 last quarter. Davis Capital Management bought a new stake in shares of Agilent Technologies in the 3rd quarter worth $28,000. Stone House Investment Management LLC bought a new position in Agilent Technologies in the 1st quarter valued at $30,000. Physician Wealth Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in Agilent Technologies by 490.0% in the third 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, Ransom Advisory Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Agilent Technologies in the first quarter valued at approximately $32,000. 87.41% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Agilent Technologies Trading Up 1.6%

The firm has a market cap of $44.25 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.65, a P/E/G ratio of 4.67 and a beta of 1.29. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $140.20 and a 200 day simple moving average of $125.68. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53, a quick ratio of 1.71 and a current ratio of 2.25.

Agilent Technologies Company Profile

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.