Franklin Resources Inc. Lowers Position in Agilent Technologies, Inc. $A

Franklin Resources Inc. lessened its position in Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A) by 2.1% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 1,115,743 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 24,340 shares during the quarter. Franklin Resources Inc.’s holdings in Agilent Technologies were worth $151,819,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in A. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its stake in shares of Agilent Technologies by 6.1% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 4,663 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $626,000 after purchasing an additional 270 shares during the period. Jones Financial Companies Lllp lifted its stake in shares of Agilent Technologies by 15.9% in the first quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 5,610 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $602,000 after buying an additional 769 shares in the last quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Agilent Technologies by 54.8% in the first quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 599 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $70,000 after buying an additional 212 shares in the last quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Agilent Technologies by 16.5% in the first quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 5,352 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $625,000 after buying an additional 758 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sivia Capital Partners LLC bought a new position in Agilent Technologies during the second quarter valued at approximately $273,000.

Agilent Technologies Trading Down 2.7%

Shares of A opened at $131.88 on Thursday. Agilent Technologies, Inc. has a 1-year low of $108.35 and a 1-year high of $160.27. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43, a current ratio of 2.10 and a quick ratio of 1.62. The firm has a market capitalization of $37.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.48, a PEG ratio of 2.41 and a beta of 1.26. The company has a 50-day moving average of $119.63 and a 200 day moving average of $128.00.

Agilent Technologies (NYSE:A) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 27th. The medical research company reported $1.49 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.41 by $0.08. Agilent Technologies had a net margin of 19.55% and a return on equity of 24.33%. The business had revenue of $1.84 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.80 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.31 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 10.0% compared to the same quarter last year. 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 expect that Agilent Technologies, Inc. will post 5.99 EPS for the current year.

Agilent Technologies Dividend Announcement

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on A. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Agilent Technologies from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, May 30th. TD Cowen upped their target price on shares of Agilent Technologies from $147.00 to $155.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, May 28th. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Agilent Technologies from $140.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 28th. HSBC lowered their price target on Agilent Technologies from $180.00 to $165.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, June 3rd. Finally, Wolfe Research reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Agilent Technologies in a research note on Tuesday, June 2nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have given a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $161.71.

Agilent Technologies 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.