Morningstar Investment Management LLC Buys 4,475 Shares of Agilent Technologies, Inc. $A

Morningstar Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A) by 27.1% during the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 20,965 shares of the medical research company’s stock after buying an additional 4,475 shares during the period. Morningstar Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Agilent Technologies were worth $2,390,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of A. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its position in Agilent Technologies by 13.8% during the fourth quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 14,147,601 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $1,925,064,000 after purchasing an additional 1,713,216 shares during the period. State Street Corp increased its holdings in Agilent Technologies by 1.9% in the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 12,681,792 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $1,725,611,000 after buying an additional 241,029 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Agilent Technologies by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 7,425,861 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $1,006,519,000 after buying an additional 25,139 shares during the period. Morgan Stanley raised its position in shares of Agilent Technologies by 15.9% in the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 5,041,881 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $686,049,000 after buying an additional 692,202 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Agilent Technologies during the 4th quarter worth approximately $549,158,000.

Agilent Technologies Stock Performance

Shares of Agilent Technologies stock opened at $138.65 on Friday. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $129.75 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $125.55. The firm has a market capitalization of $39.16 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.84, a P/E/G ratio of 2.46 and a beta of 1.25. Agilent Technologies, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $108.35 and a fifty-two week 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.

Agilent Technologies (NYSE:A) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 27th. The medical research company reported $1.49 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 company had revenue of $1.83 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.80 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.31 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter 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, equities analysts forecast that Agilent Technologies, Inc. will post 6.01 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Agilent Technologies Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 22nd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, June 30th were given 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 currently 20.48%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A has been the topic of several analyst reports. Barclays increased their price target on shares of Agilent Technologies from $145.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 24th. Wall Street Zen cut Agilent Technologies from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday. Weiss Ratings raised Agilent Technologies from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 2nd. Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on Agilent Technologies in a report on Thursday, July 9th. They set a “hold” rating and a $135.00 price target for the company. Finally, Bank of America raised Agilent Technologies from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and reduced their price objective for the company from $150.00 to $145.00 in a research note on Thursday, May 28th. Two investment 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’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $159.35.

About Agilent Technologies

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.