Principal Financial Group Inc. Sells 18,893 Shares of Agilent Technologies, Inc. $A

Principal Financial Group Inc. lessened its position in shares of Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A) by 5.4% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 332,822 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 18,893 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Agilent Technologies were worth $44,209,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Brighton Jones LLC raised its holdings in Agilent Technologies by 6.1% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 4,663 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $626,000 after purchasing an additional 270 shares during the last quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp lifted its position in Agilent Technologies by 15.9% during the 1st quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 5,610 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $602,000 after purchasing an additional 769 shares during the period. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Agilent Technologies by 54.8% in the 1st quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 599 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $70,000 after purchasing an additional 212 shares during the last quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Agilent Technologies by 16.5% in the 1st quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 5,352 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $625,000 after purchasing an additional 758 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sivia Capital Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Agilent Technologies during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $273,000. Institutional investors own 87.41% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently weighed in on A. Wolfe Research reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Agilent Technologies in a research note on Tuesday, June 2nd. Royal Bank Of Canada initiated coverage on shares of Agilent Technologies in a research note on Wednesday, May 27th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $153.00 price objective on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on shares of Agilent Technologies in a report on Thursday, July 9th. They set a “hold” rating and a $135.00 target price for the company. Piper Sandler started coverage on shares of Agilent Technologies in a research report on Thursday, June 11th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $150.00 target price for the company. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their price target on Agilent Technologies from $160.00 to $175.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have assigned a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $160.24.

Agilent Technologies Stock Performance

Shares of A stock opened at $148.55 on Friday. 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 stock has a market cap of $41.96 billion, a PE ratio of 29.83, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.64 and a beta of 1.25. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $135.38 and a 200-day moving average of $125.56. Agilent Technologies, Inc. has a one year low of $108.35 and a one year high of $160.27.

Agilent Technologies (NYSE:A) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 27th. The medical research company reported $1.49 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 $1.83 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.80 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.31 EPS. Agilent Technologies’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.0% on a year-over-year basis. 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. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Agilent Technologies, Inc. will post 6.03 earnings per share for the current year.

Agilent Technologies Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 22nd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, June 30th were issued a $0.255 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, June 30th. This represents a $1.02 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.7%. Agilent Technologies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 20.48%.

Agilent Technologies Company 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.