Hsbc Holdings PLC Boosts Position in Agilent Technologies, Inc. $A

Hsbc Holdings PLC raised its position in Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A) by 44.9% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 1,092,001 shares of the medical research company’s stock after purchasing an additional 338,332 shares during the period. Hsbc Holdings PLC owned about 0.39% of Agilent Technologies worth $124,459,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of Agilent Technologies by 4.3% in the fourth quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 599,581 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $82,712,000 after purchasing an additional 24,687 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its stake 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 worth $1,925,064,000 after purchasing an additional 1,713,216 shares in the last quarter. CCLA Investment Management raised its position in shares of Agilent Technologies by 1.9% during the 4th quarter. CCLA Investment Management now owns 1,047,488 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $142,542,000 after purchasing an additional 19,518 shares during the last quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. raised its position in shares of Agilent Technologies by 20.9% during the 4th quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 53,422 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $7,269,000 after purchasing an additional 9,236 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. raised its position in shares of Agilent Technologies by 39.6% during the 4th quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. now owns 33,918 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $4,615,000 after purchasing an additional 9,615 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.41% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have commented on A. Wall Street Zen upgraded Agilent Technologies from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, May 30th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on Agilent Technologies from $165.00 to $160.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, May 28th. Barclays upped their price objective on Agilent Technologies from $145.00 to $150.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 24th. TD Cowen increased their price objective on Agilent Technologies from $147.00 to $155.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 28th. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded Agilent Technologies from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 2nd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have given a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Agilent Technologies presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $159.35.

Agilent Technologies Stock Down 3.5%

Shares of NYSE:A opened at $131.34 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $127.49 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $125.63. 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, Inc. has a 12-month low of $108.35 and a 12-month high of $160.27. The firm has a market cap of $37.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.37, a PEG ratio of 2.34 and a beta of 1.25.

Agilent Technologies (NYSE:A) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 27th. The medical research company reported $1.49 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.41 by $0.08. The company had revenue of $1.83 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.80 billion. Agilent Technologies had a net margin of 19.55% and a return on equity of 24.33%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 10.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $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. On average, research analysts forecast that Agilent Technologies, Inc. will post 6 EPS for the current year.

Agilent Technologies Announces Dividend

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

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.