Agilent Technologies (NYSE:A) Sets New 52-Week High – Should You Buy?

Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A)’s stock price reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Thursday. The company traded as high as $178.21 and last traded at $177.9290, with a volume of 2,135,427 shares. The stock had previously closed at $173.01.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on the company. UBS Group increased their price target on Agilent Technologies from $165.00 to $180.00 in a research report on Tuesday, October 13th. Stifel Nicolaus raised their target price on shares of Agilent Technologies from $170.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 27th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of Agilent Technologies from $190.00 to $195.00 in a research report on Wednesday, October 14th. Robert W. Baird boosted their price target on shares of Agilent Technologies from $180.00 to $195.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 8th. Finally, TD Cowen upped their price target on shares of Agilent Technologies from $180.00 to $196.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 13th. Seventeen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Agilent Technologies presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $181.00.

Agilent Technologies Stock Down 0.5%

The firm has a market cap of $48.77 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.69, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.65 and a beta of 1.21. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $161.48 and a 200-day moving average of $139.62. The company has a quick ratio of 1.56, a current ratio of 2.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50.

Agilent Technologies (NYSE:A) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.84 billion. Agilent Technologies had a return on equity of 24.45% and a net margin of 19.53%. The business’s revenue was up 8.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $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, equities research analysts anticipate that Agilent Technologies, Inc. will post 6.20 earnings per share for the current year.

Agilent Technologies Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Activity at Agilent Technologies

In other Agilent Technologies news, Director Mikael Dolsten sold 634 shares of the company’s 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 sale, the director owned 4,924 shares in the company, valued at approximately $745,395.12. The trade was a 11.41% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Cedar Mountain Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Agilent Technologies during the first quarter valued at about $27,000. Markowski Investments purchased a new position in Agilent Technologies during the second quarter worth about $27,000. Keating Financial Advisory Services Inc. bought a new stake in Agilent Technologies in the 2nd quarter worth about $31,000. Osterweis Capital Management Inc. bought a new stake in Agilent Technologies in the 2nd quarter worth about $43,000. Finally, Gould Capital LLC grew its position in Agilent Technologies by 54.9% in the 1st quarter. Gould Capital LLC now owns 409 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $47,000 after purchasing an additional 145 shares in the last quarter.

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.