Saturna Capital Corp Lowers Holdings in Agilent Technologies, Inc. $A

Saturna Capital Corp trimmed its stake in Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A) by 35.1% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 199,390 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 108,010 shares during the quarter. Saturna Capital Corp’s holdings in Agilent Technologies were worth $27,131,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of A. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its holdings in shares of Agilent Technologies by 13.8% during the fourth 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 acquiring an additional 1,713,216 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its stake in Agilent Technologies by 4.8% in the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 9,380,521 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $1,203,990,000 after purchasing an additional 433,342 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position 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 purchasing an additional 25,139 shares during the last quarter. Generation Investment Management LLP grew its position 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 purchasing an additional 582,093 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank purchased a new position in Agilent Technologies in the fourth quarter worth about $549,158,000.

Agilent Technologies Trading Down 2.7%

Shares of NYSE:A opened at $131.88 on Thursday. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $119.63 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $128.00. The stock has a market capitalization of $37.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.48, a PEG ratio of 2.41 and a beta of 1.26. Agilent Technologies, Inc. has a 52-week low of $108.35 and a 52-week high of $160.27. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43, a quick ratio of 1.62 and a current ratio of 2.10.

Agilent Technologies (NYSE:A) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 27th. The medical research company reported $1.49 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.41 by $0.08. Agilent Technologies had a net margin of 19.55% and a return on equity of 24.33%. The firm had revenue of $1.84 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.80 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm 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. Analysts expect that Agilent Technologies, Inc. will post 5.99 EPS for the current year.

Agilent Technologies Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 22nd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, June 30th will be given a $0.255 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, June 30th. This represents a $1.02 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.8%. Agilent Technologies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 20.48%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A has been the topic of several analyst reports. Bank of America upgraded shares of Agilent Technologies from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and dropped their target price for the stock from $150.00 to $145.00 in a research note on Thursday, May 28th. TD Cowen boosted their price objective on shares of Agilent Technologies from $147.00 to $155.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, May 28th. Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on Agilent Technologies from $180.00 to $160.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, March 3rd. Robert W. Baird increased their target price on Agilent Technologies from $155.00 to $156.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 26th. Finally, Wolfe Research reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Agilent Technologies in a report on Tuesday, June 2nd. One investment 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $161.71.

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.