Agilent Technologies (NYSE:A) Research Coverage Started at HSBC

HSBC assumed coverage on shares of Agilent Technologies (NYSE:A) in a report issued on Tuesday morning, MarketBeat.com reports. The brokerage issued a buy rating and a $180.00 price target on the medical research company’s stock.

Several other equities research analysts have also recently commented on A. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on Agilent Technologies from $150.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 25th. Morgan Stanley started coverage on Agilent Technologies in a report on Tuesday, December 2nd. They set an “overweight” rating on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of Agilent Technologies from $165.00 to $180.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 25th. The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on shares of Agilent Technologies in a research report on Tuesday, December 9th. They set a “buy” rating and a $170.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Rothschild Redb upgraded shares of Agilent Technologies to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have assigned a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $164.50.

Agilent Technologies Stock Performance

Shares of A stock opened at $138.66 on Tuesday. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $143.60 and its 200 day simple moving average is $133.85. Agilent Technologies has a one year low of $96.43 and a one year high of $160.27. The stock has a market capitalization of $39.31 billion, a PE ratio of 30.34, a PEG ratio of 4.06 and a beta of 1.29. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45, a current ratio of 1.96 and a quick ratio of 1.52.

Agilent Technologies (NYSE:A) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, November 24th. The medical research company reported $1.59 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.58 by $0.01. Agilent Technologies had a net margin of 18.75% and a return on equity of 25.20%. The firm had revenue of $1.86 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.83 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.46 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 9.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Agilent Technologies has set its Q1 2026 guidance at 1.350-1.380 EPS and its FY 2026 guidance at 5.860-6.000 EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that Agilent Technologies will post 5.58 earnings per share for the current year.

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 paid a $0.255 dividend. This represents a $1.02 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.7%. This is a positive change from Agilent Technologies’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, January 6th. Agilent Technologies’s payout ratio is 22.32%.

Insider Activity

In other Agilent Technologies news, VP Rodney Gonsalves sold 3,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $154.99, for a total transaction of $464,970.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president directly owned 31,846 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,935,811.54. The trade was a 8.61% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Padraig Mcdonnell sold 911 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 directly owned 32,058 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,591,987.92. This trade represents a 2.76% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 16,401 shares of company stock valued at $2,468,962.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Agilent Technologies

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of A. Capital A Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings 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 worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 212 shares in the last quarter. Board of the Pension Protection Fund purchased a new stake in Agilent Technologies in the fourth quarter worth approximately $27,000. Davis Capital Management bought a new position in Agilent Technologies during the third quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Physician Wealth Advisors Inc. raised its stake in shares of Agilent Technologies by 490.0% during the third quarter. Physician Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 236 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 196 shares in the last quarter. Finally, State of Wyoming bought a new stake in shares of Agilent Technologies in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $35,000.

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.