Agilent Technologies (NYSE:A) Sets New 1-Year High – Should You Buy?

Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A)’s share price reached a new 52-week high on Wednesday. The stock traded as high as $182.99 and last traded at $181.0470, with a volume of 684,125 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $177.49.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on A shares. Barclays raised their price objective on Agilent Technologies from $175.00 to $195.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 7th. Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on Agilent Technologies in a report on Thursday, July 9th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $135.00 target price on the stock. Sanford C. Bernstein increased their target price on Agilent Technologies from $155.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 27th. Weiss Ratings raised Agilent Technologies from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 8th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price target on Agilent Technologies from $175.00 to $185.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, September 21st. Eighteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Agilent Technologies has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $181.45.

Agilent Technologies Trading Up 2.1%

The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $162.57 and its 200 day moving average price is $135.93. 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 stock has a market cap of $51.08 billion, a PE ratio of 35.68, a PEG ratio of 2.63 and a beta of 1.21.

Agilent Technologies (NYSE:A) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 26th. The medical research company reported $1.62 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.49 by $0.13. Agilent Technologies had a net margin of 19.53% and a return on equity of 24.45%. The company had revenue of $1.88 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.84 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.37 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 8.1% compared to the same quarter last year. 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, sell-side analysts forecast that Agilent Technologies, Inc. will post 6.20 EPS for the current year.

Agilent Technologies Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 28th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, October 6th will be issued a $0.2550 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is 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 presently 20.08%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Agilent Technologies

In other news, Director Mikael Dolsten sold 634 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, September 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $151.38, for a total value of $95,974.92. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 4,924 shares in the company, 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 Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Agilent Technologies

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Parcion Private Wealth LLC lifted its stake in Agilent Technologies by 14.8% in the 3rd quarter. Parcion Private Wealth LLC now owns 4,932 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $850,000 after purchasing an additional 634 shares in the last quarter. Soltis Investment Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Agilent Technologies by 22.6% during the 3rd quarter. Soltis Investment Advisors LLC now owns 2,741 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $472,000 after purchasing an additional 505 shares during the last quarter. Choreo LLC grew its position in shares of Agilent Technologies by 8.0% during the third quarter. Choreo LLC now owns 10,178 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $1,754,000 after purchasing an additional 755 shares in the last quarter. Interchange Capital Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Agilent Technologies during the third quarter valued at about $256,000. Finally, Livelsberger Financial Advisory purchased a new position in shares of Agilent Technologies during the third quarter valued at about $32,000.

Agilent Technologies Company Profile

Agilent Technologies, Inc is a global provider of analytical laboratory instruments, software, services and consumables. The company serves customers in the pharmaceutical, biotechnology, chemical, food, environmental, energy and academic research sectors, as well as diagnostic and clinical laboratories.

Agilent’s offerings include liquid and gas chromatography systems, mass spectrometry instruments, spectroscopy and atomic instruments, laboratory automation products, genomic and cell analysis solutions, and related software.