Goldman Sachs Group Inc. Buys 554,690 Shares of Agilent Technologies, Inc. $A

Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A) by 21.9% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 3,083,977 shares of the medical research company’s stock after purchasing an additional 554,690 shares during the quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. owned 1.09% of Agilent Technologies worth $419,637,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its position in shares of Agilent Technologies by 13.8% during the 4th quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 14,147,601 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $1,925,064,000 after purchasing an additional 1,713,216 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its holdings in Agilent Technologies by 4.8% during the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 9,380,521 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $1,203,990,000 after acquiring an additional 433,342 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Agilent Technologies by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 7,425,861 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $1,006,519,000 after acquiring an additional 25,139 shares during the period. Generation Investment Management LLP boosted its holdings in Agilent Technologies by 10.1% during the 3rd quarter. Generation Investment Management LLP now owns 6,357,953 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $816,043,000 after acquiring an additional 582,093 shares during the period. Finally, Norges Bank purchased a new position in Agilent Technologies during the 4th quarter valued at $549,158,000.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. Royal Bank Of Canada assumed coverage on Agilent Technologies in a report on Wednesday, May 27th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $153.00 price objective for the company. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on Agilent Technologies from $165.00 to $160.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, May 28th. Wolfe Research restated a “hold” rating on shares of Agilent Technologies in a report on Tuesday. TD Cowen boosted their price objective on Agilent Technologies from $147.00 to $155.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, May 28th. Finally, Barclays boosted their price objective on Agilent Technologies from $140.00 to $145.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, May 28th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have issued a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $161.71.

Agilent Technologies Price Performance

Shares of A stock opened at $138.23 on Friday. Agilent Technologies, Inc. has a twelve month low of $108.35 and a twelve month high of $160.27. The stock has a market capitalization of $39.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.76, a P/E/G ratio of 2.45 and a beta of 1.26. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $117.89 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $128.30. The company has a current ratio of 2.10, a quick ratio of 1.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43.

Agilent Technologies (NYSE:A) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, May 27th. The medical research company reported $1.49 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.41 by $0.08. Agilent Technologies had a return on equity of 24.33% and a net margin of 19.55%.The business had revenue of $1.84 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.80 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.31 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Agilent Technologies has set its FY 2026 guidance at 6.000-6.100 EPS and its Q3 2026 guidance at 1.480-1.500 EPS. On average, analysts predict that Agilent Technologies, Inc. will post 5.99 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Agilent Technologies Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 22nd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, June 30th will be issued a $0.255 dividend. This represents a $1.02 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, June 30th. Agilent Technologies’s dividend payout ratio is currently 20.48%.

About Agilent Technologies

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.