Agilent Technologies (NYSE:A) Stock Price Up 3.9% – Should You Buy?

Shares of Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A) shot up 3.9% on Thursday. The stock traded as high as $169.89 and last traded at $171.7230. Approximately 157,718 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 93% from the average session volume of 2,258,314 shares. The stock had previously closed at $165.32.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their target price on shares of Agilent Technologies from $155.00 to $175.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 27th. Wolfe Research reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Agilent Technologies in a research note on Tuesday, June 2nd. UBS Group started coverage on shares of Agilent Technologies in a report on Wednesday, September 9th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $165.00 price target on the stock. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Agilent Technologies from $150.00 to $175.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 27th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on shares of Agilent Technologies in a research report on Thursday, July 9th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $135.00 target price for the company. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have issued a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $170.33.

Agilent Technologies Stock Down 0.1%

The company has a market cap of $48.66 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.98, a P/E/G ratio of 2.63 and a beta of 1.24. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $149.16 and a two-hundred day moving average of $131.40. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50, a quick ratio of 1.56 and a current ratio of 2.05.

Agilent Technologies (NYSE:A) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 26th. The medical research company reported $1.62 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.49 by $0.13. The business had revenue of $1.88 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.84 billion. Agilent Technologies had a net margin of 19.53% and a return on equity of 24.45%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 8.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business 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. On average, research analysts anticipate that Agilent Technologies, Inc. will post 6.2 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Agilent Technologies Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 28th. Investors of record on Tuesday, October 6th will be issued a dividend of $0.2550 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, October 6th. This represents a $1.02 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.6%. Agilent Technologies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 20.08%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Agilent Technologies news, Director Mikael Dolsten sold 634 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, September 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $151.38, for a total value of $95,974.92. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 4,924 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $745,395.12. The trade was a 11.41% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of A. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Agilent Technologies during the 4th quarter valued at about $549,158,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its stake in Agilent Technologies by 87.4% in the 2nd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 5,233,964 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $695,227,000 after purchasing an additional 2,440,360 shares during the period. Legal & General Group Plc purchased a new position in Agilent Technologies in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $260,101,000. Bank of America Corp DE bought a new stake in Agilent Technologies in the second quarter valued at approximately $213,269,000. Finally, Man Group plc bought a new stake in Agilent Technologies in the second quarter valued at approximately $179,257,000.

Agilent Technologies Company Profile

Agilent Technologies, Inc is a global provider of analytical instruments, laboratory software, consumables and services used by organizations in the life sciences, diagnostics, pharmaceutical, chemical, environmental and food industries. Its solutions help customers analyze the composition and quality of substances, develop and manufacture products, and conduct research and testing.

The company’s offerings include liquid and gas chromatography systems, mass spectrometry instruments, spectroscopy and atomic analysis equipment, automated electrophoresis systems, laboratory informatics software, columns and other consumables.