M Holdings Securities Inc. Makes New Investment in Agilent Technologies, Inc. $A

M Holdings Securities Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A) during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 3,010 shares of the medical research company’s stock, valued at approximately $518,000.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. State Street Corp raised its stake in shares of Agilent Technologies by 0.7% in the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 12,854,230 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $1,710,658,000 after buying an additional 89,598 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its stake in Agilent Technologies by 2.7% during the second quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 7,454,686 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $990,206,000 after buying an additional 198,253 shares in the last quarter. Deutsche Bank AG boosted its stake in Agilent Technologies by 17.1% during the second quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 7,008,634 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $930,957,000 after buying an additional 1,024,516 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its stake in Agilent Technologies by 87.4% during the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 5,233,964 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $695,227,000 after buying an additional 2,440,360 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc acquired a new position in Agilent Technologies during the second quarter worth about $260,101,000.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Mikael Dolsten sold 634 shares of Agilent Technologies stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $151.38, for a total value of $95,974.92. Following the transaction, the director owned 4,924 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $745,395.12. This trade represents a 11.41% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have commented on A. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Agilent Technologies from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, October 17th. Citigroup upped their price target on shares of Agilent Technologies from $185.00 to $190.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 27th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price objective on shares of Agilent Technologies from $175.00 to $185.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, September 21st. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price objective on shares of Agilent Technologies from $170.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 27th. Finally, HSBC boosted their target price on shares of Agilent Technologies from $165.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 1st. Eighteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $181.45.

Agilent Technologies Stock Performance

A opened at $178.02 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $50.19 billion, a PE ratio of 29.73, a P/E/G ratio of 2.64 and a beta of 1.24. The company has a quick ratio of 1.56, a current ratio of 2.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $166.93 and a 200-day simple moving average of $137.60. Agilent Technologies, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $108.35 and a fifty-two week high of $182.99.

Agilent Technologies (NYSE:A) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, August 26th. The medical research company reported $1.62 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.49 by $0.13. The company had revenue of $1.88 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.84 billion. Agilent Technologies had a return on equity of 24.45% and a net margin of 19.53%. Agilent Technologies’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.37 earnings per share. Agilent Technologies has set its Q4 2026 guidance at 1.710-1.740 EPS and its FY 2026 guidance at 6.180-6.210 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that Agilent Technologies, Inc. will post 6.20 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Agilent Technologies Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, October 28th. Investors of record on Tuesday, October 6th were given a $0.2550 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, October 6th. This represents a $1.02 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.6%. Agilent Technologies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 20.08%.

About Agilent Technologies

Agilent Technologies develops and supplies instruments, software, services and consumables used in laboratories and manufacturing operations. Its offerings support applications in life sciences, diagnostics, chemical analysis, food safety, environmental testing and pharmaceutical research. The company serves customers worldwide, including pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies, clinical and academic laboratories, and organizations in the chemical, energy and food industries. Its services include laboratory equipment maintenance, technical support and related workflow solutions.