Epoch Investment Partners Inc. Trims Stock Position in Agilent Technologies, Inc. $A

Epoch Investment Partners Inc. decreased its stake in Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A) by 6.5% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 249,349 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 17,308 shares during the period. Epoch Investment Partners Inc. owned 0.09% of Agilent Technologies worth $29,426,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its position in Agilent Technologies by 6.2% during the second quarter. Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 98,400 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $11,631,000 after buying an additional 5,767 shares during the period. TrueMark Investments LLC purchased a new position in shares of Agilent Technologies during the second quarter worth approximately $1,999,000. Nuance Investments LLC grew its position in shares of Agilent Technologies by 13.5% during the second quarter. Nuance Investments LLC now owns 80,698 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $9,523,000 after acquiring an additional 9,628 shares during the last quarter. Fenimore Asset Management Inc raised its position in Agilent Technologies by 2.7% in the 2nd quarter. Fenimore Asset Management Inc now owns 180,880 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $21,346,000 after purchasing an additional 4,823 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Godsey & Gibb Inc. boosted its stake in Agilent Technologies by 19.8% during the 2nd quarter. Godsey & Gibb Inc. now owns 166,664 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $19,668,000 after purchasing an additional 27,520 shares during the period.

Agilent Technologies Stock Performance

NYSE:A opened at $145.45 on Friday. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $144.84 and its 200-day simple moving average is $127.91. The company has a quick ratio of 1.52, a current ratio of 1.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45. The stock has a market cap of $41.24 billion, a PE ratio of 31.83, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.30 and a beta of 1.27. Agilent Technologies, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $96.43 and a fifty-two week high of $160.27.

Agilent Technologies (NYSE:A) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, November 24th. The medical research company reported $1.59 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.58 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $1.86 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.83 billion. Agilent Technologies had a net margin of 18.75% and a return on equity of 25.20%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.46 earnings per share. Agilent Technologies has set its Q1 2026 guidance at 1.350-1.380 EPS and its FY 2026 guidance at 5.860-6.000 EPS. Analysts expect that Agilent Technologies, Inc. will post 5.58 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Agilent Technologies Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 28th. Investors of record on Tuesday, January 6th will be issued a $0.255 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, January 6th. This represents a $1.02 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.7%. This is an increase from Agilent Technologies’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. Agilent Technologies’s payout ratio is currently 21.66%.

Insider Activity at Agilent Technologies

In other news, VP Rodney Gonsalves sold 3,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $154.99, for a total value of $464,970.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president owned 31,846 shares in the company, valued at $4,935,811.54. This trade represents a 8.61% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Padraig Mcdonnell sold 12,490 shares of Agilent Technologies stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $150.00, for a total value of $1,873,500.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 33,448 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,017,200. This trade represents a 27.19% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold a total of 16,401 shares of company stock valued at $2,468,962 over the last ninety days.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have commented on A. Robert W. Baird lifted their price objective on shares of Agilent Technologies from $142.00 to $165.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 25th. Evercore ISI boosted their price target on Agilent Technologies from $128.00 to $140.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 7th. Morgan Stanley initiated coverage on Agilent Technologies in a research note on Tuesday. They set an “overweight” rating for the company. Rothschild & Co Redburn assumed coverage on Agilent Technologies in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. They set a “buy” rating and a $165.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on Agilent Technologies from $150.00 to $175.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 25th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have assigned a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $161.08.

Agilent Technologies Profile

Agilent Technologies, Inc provides application focused solutions to the life sciences, diagnostics, and applied chemical markets worldwide. The company operates in three segments: Life Sciences and Applied Markets, Diagnostics and Genomics, and Agilent CrossLab. The Life Sciences and Applied Markets segment offers liquid chromatography systems and components; liquid chromatography mass spectrometry systems; gas chromatography systems and components; gas chromatography mass spectrometry systems; inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry instruments; atomic absorption instruments; microwave plasma-atomic emission spectrometry instruments; inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectrometry instruments; raman spectroscopy; cell analysis plate based assays; flow cytometer; real-time cell analyzer; cell imaging systems; microplate reader; laboratory software; information management and analytics; laboratory automation and robotic systems; dissolution testing; and vacuum pumps, and measurement technologies.