Agilent Technologies (NYSE:A) Hits New 1-Year High – Here’s Why

Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A) shares reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Monday. The company traded as high as $174.77 and last traded at $174.67, with a volume of 488742 shares. The stock had previously closed at $172.79.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A has been the topic of several analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of Agilent Technologies from $180.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, August 27th. UBS Group assumed coverage on Agilent Technologies in a report on Wednesday, September 9th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $165.00 target price for the company. Sanford C. Bernstein lifted their price target on Agilent Technologies from $155.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, August 27th. Bank of America boosted their price target on shares of Agilent Technologies from $155.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 27th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus upped their price objective on Agilent Technologies from $170.00 to $180.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 27th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have given a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Agilent Technologies presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $170.33.

Agilent Technologies Stock Performance

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 company’s 50-day moving average is $149.16 and its two-hundred day moving average is $131.50. The company has a market capitalization of $49.52 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.60, a PEG ratio of 2.63 and a beta of 1.24.

Agilent Technologies (NYSE:A) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 26th. The medical research company reported $1.62 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.49 by $0.13. The business had revenue of $1.88 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.84 billion. Agilent Technologies had a net margin of 19.53% and a return on equity of 24.45%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 8.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.37 EPS. 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. Equities analysts anticipate that Agilent Technologies, Inc. will post 6.2 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Agilent Technologies Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 28th. Investors of record on Tuesday, October 6th will be issued a dividend of $0.2550 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, October 6th. This represents a $1.02 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.6%. Agilent Technologies’s dividend payout ratio is currently 20.08%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Mikael Dolsten sold 634 shares of Agilent Technologies stock in a transaction on Friday, September 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $151.38, for a total value of $95,974.92. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 4,924 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $745,395.12. The trade was a 11.41% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link.

Institutional Trading of Agilent Technologies

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Greenleaf Trust grew its position in Agilent Technologies by 0.8% in the 2nd quarter. Greenleaf Trust now owns 8,117 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $1,078,000 after acquiring an additional 68 shares during the last quarter. Nilsine Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of Agilent Technologies by 0.8% during the second quarter. Nilsine Partners LLC now owns 9,650 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $1,282,000 after purchasing an additional 72 shares during the period. Sapient Capital LLC boosted its stake in shares of Agilent Technologies by 4.2% during the first quarter. Sapient Capital LLC now owns 2,105 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $240,000 after purchasing an additional 85 shares during the period. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC grew its holdings in shares of Agilent Technologies by 0.8% in the second quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC now owns 11,555 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $1,535,000 after purchasing an additional 88 shares during the last quarter. Finally, UNIVEST FINANCIAL Corp increased its stake in Agilent Technologies by 1.3% in the 2nd quarter. UNIVEST FINANCIAL Corp now owns 7,145 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $949,000 after buying an additional 93 shares during the period.

Agilent Technologies Company Profile

Agilent Technologies, Inc is a global provider of analytical instruments, laboratory software, consumables and services used by organizations in the life sciences, diagnostics, pharmaceutical, chemical, environmental and food industries. Its solutions help customers analyze the composition and quality of substances, develop and manufacture products, and conduct research and testing.

The company’s offerings include liquid and gas chromatography systems, mass spectrometry instruments, spectroscopy and atomic analysis equipment, automated electrophoresis systems, laboratory informatics software, columns and other consumables.