First Trust Advisors LP Boosts Position in Agilent Technologies, Inc. $A

First Trust Advisors LP raised its stake in Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A) by 4.9% in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 666,649 shares of the medical research company’s stock after purchasing an additional 30,966 shares during the period. First Trust Advisors LP’s holdings in Agilent Technologies were worth $85,564,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. HUB Investment Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Agilent Technologies during the 3rd quarter worth about $215,000. Neo Ivy Capital Management purchased a new position in Agilent Technologies during the third quarter worth approximately $1,203,000. Intellectus Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Agilent Technologies during the 3rd quarter valued at about $279,000. Gabelli Funds LLC boosted its holdings in Agilent Technologies by 1.1% in the 3rd quarter. Gabelli Funds LLC now owns 6,620 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $850,000 after purchasing an additional 74 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. increased its stake in Agilent Technologies by 12.4% during the third quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. now owns 24,303 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $3,119,000 after acquiring an additional 2,682 shares during the last quarter.

Key Agilent Technologies News

Here are the key news stories impacting Agilent Technologies this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Strategic product and market fit — Biocare is a global leader in immunohistochemistry, in‑situ hybridization and related pathology reagents and instrumentation, giving Agilent a stronger position in clinical pathology and recurring consumables revenue streams. Agilent to Acquire Biocare Medical — Business Wire
• Positive Sentiment: Market reacted favorably to the deal — multiple outlets reported a share lift after the announcement, reflecting investor approval of the strategic rationale and potential for cross-sell into Agilent’s distribution channels. Agilent stock rises on $950M Biocare Medical acquisition — Investing
• Neutral Sentiment: Deal scale and financing — the $950M all‑cash price is meaningful but modest versus Agilent’s ~$33B market cap, suggesting the transaction is a manageable bolt‑on that should be accretive over time without major dilution. Agilent to acquire Biocare Medical in $950 million all-cash deal — Reuters
• Neutral Sentiment: Seller and product continuity — private equity owners Excellere Partners and GHO Capital are exiting; Biocare brings established products and channels that could shorten time‑to‑value for Agilent. Excellere Partners and GHO Capital Sell Biocare Medical to Agilent — GlobeNewswire
• Negative Sentiment: Lingering investor caution after earnings miss — Agilent posted a slight Q1 EPS/revenue miss and modest guidance, and some commentary noted the Biocare buyout didn’t immediately erase investor concerns about near‑term growth. Agilent stock slips premarket: $950M Biocare buyout fails to lift investor sentiment after Q1 miss — MSN
• Negative Sentiment: Execution and integration risks — as with any acquisition, watch integration costs, margin mix, and how quickly Agilent can scale Biocare’s products through its channels; analysts will watch near‑term margins and cash metrics. Agilent Buys Biocare for $950M — Bloomberg

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on Agilent Technologies from $175.00 to $165.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 26th. Evercore upgraded shares of Agilent Technologies from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $155.00 to $160.00 in a report on Monday, January 5th. Bank of America increased their target price on shares of Agilent Technologies from $150.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of Agilent Technologies from $165.00 to $180.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 25th. Finally, UBS Group decreased their price objective on shares of Agilent Technologies from $180.00 to $165.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 26th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have issued a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Agilent Technologies presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $161.20.

Agilent Technologies Stock Performance

Shares of Agilent Technologies stock opened at $116.57 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $32.94 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.73, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.42 and a beta of 1.31. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44, a current ratio of 2.07 and a quick ratio of 1.59. The business has a 50-day moving average of $132.22 and a 200 day moving average of $136.12. Agilent Technologies, Inc. has a 12 month low of $96.43 and a 12 month high of $160.27.

Agilent Technologies (NYSE:A) last issued 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). The business had revenue of $1.80 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.81 billion. Agilent Technologies had a return on equity of 24.49% and a net margin of 18.26%.The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $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 forecast that Agilent Technologies, Inc. will post 5.58 earnings per share for the current year.

Agilent Technologies Announces Dividend

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