Groupe la Francaise Purchases 5,217 Shares of Agilent Technologies, Inc. $A

Groupe la Francaise increased its position in Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A) by 15.4% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 39,069 shares of the medical research company’s stock after purchasing an additional 5,217 shares during the quarter. Groupe la Francaise’s holdings in Agilent Technologies were worth $4,453,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Norges Bank bought a new position in Agilent Technologies in the fourth quarter worth $549,158,000. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its position in shares of Agilent Technologies by 13.8% in the 4th quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 14,147,601 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $1,925,064,000 after buying an additional 1,713,216 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Agilent Technologies by 424.1% in the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 2,041,826 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $240,956,000 after buying an additional 1,652,244 shares during the period. Ameriprise Financial Inc. increased its stake in shares of Agilent Technologies by 132.2% in the 2nd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 2,354,111 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $277,807,000 after acquiring an additional 1,340,161 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Balyasny Asset Management L.P. increased its stake in shares of Agilent Technologies by 192.0% in the 4th quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 1,412,535 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $192,204,000 after acquiring an additional 928,821 shares in the last quarter.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently commented on the stock. Robert W. Baird boosted their price objective on shares of Agilent Technologies from $155.00 to $156.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 26th. Wolfe Research reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Agilent Technologies in a research note on Tuesday, June 2nd. TD Cowen lifted their target price on shares of Agilent Technologies from $147.00 to $155.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, May 28th. Bank of America raised Agilent Technologies from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and dropped their price target for the stock from $150.00 to $145.00 in a research report on Thursday, May 28th. Finally, Barclays upped their price target on Agilent Technologies from $145.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 24th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have given a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Agilent Technologies currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $159.35.

Agilent Technologies Stock Performance

Shares of Agilent Technologies stock opened at $138.32 on Friday. Agilent Technologies, Inc. has a 1 year low of $108.35 and a 1 year high of $160.27. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $132.35 and its 200 day moving average is $125.30. The stock has a market cap of $39.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.77, a PEG ratio of 2.46 and a beta of 1.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43, a current ratio of 2.10 and a quick ratio of 1.62.

Agilent Technologies (NYSE:A) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 27th. The medical research company reported $1.49 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.41 by $0.08. The business had revenue of $1.83 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.80 billion. Agilent Technologies had a net margin of 19.55% and a return on equity of 24.33%. Agilent Technologies’s revenue was up 10.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.31 EPS. 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. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Agilent Technologies, Inc. will post 6.01 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Agilent Technologies Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 22nd. Investors of record on Tuesday, June 30th were given a dividend of $0.255 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, June 30th. This represents a $1.02 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.7%. Agilent Technologies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 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.