Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A) Stock Now Rated "Moderate Buy" by Sell-Side Brokerages

Key Points

• Analyst sentiment is moderately bullish: Twenty brokerages collectively rate Agilent Technologies “Moderate Buy,” with 14 buys, five holds and one strong buy. The average 12-month price target is $170.33.
• Agilent’s latest quarterly results exceeded expectations, with earnings of $1.62 per share versus a $1.49 consensus estimate and revenue of $1.88 billion, up 8.1% year over year.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.255 per share, equivalent to $1.02 annually and a 0.6% yield; its payout ratio is 20.08%.

Shares of Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A - Get Free Report) have been assigned an average recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from the twenty research firms that are covering the stock, MarketBeat reports. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, fourteen have issued a buy recommendation and one has issued a strong buy recommendation on the company. The average 12 month target price among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $170.33.

Several analysts have issued reports on A shares. Weiss Ratings upgraded Agilent Technologies from a "hold (c)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a research note on Friday, September 11th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their target price on Agilent Technologies from $170.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, August 27th. Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on Agilent Technologies in a report on Thursday, July 9th. They issued a "hold" rating and a $135.00 price target for the company. Piper Sandler assumed coverage on Agilent Technologies in a research report on Thursday, June 11th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $150.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Bank of America raised their price objective on Agilent Technologies from $155.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, August 27th.

Agilent Technologies Trading Down 0.1%

NYSE A opened at $172.60 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $48.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.98, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.63 and a beta of 1.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50, a current ratio of 2.05 and a quick ratio of 1.56. Agilent Technologies has a 12 month low of $108.35 and a 12 month high of $174.77. The company's fifty day moving average price is $149.16 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $131.40.

Agilent Technologies (NYSE:A - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, August 26th. The medical research company reported $1.62 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.49 by $0.13. Agilent Technologies had a net margin of 19.53% and a return on equity of 24.45%. The company had revenue of $1.88 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.84 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.37 EPS. The company's revenue was up 8.1% on a year-over-year basis. 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. As a group, research analysts predict that Agilent Technologies will post 6.2 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Agilent Technologies Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Mikael Dolsten sold 634 shares of Agilent Technologies stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $151.38, for a total value of $95,974.92. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 4,924 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $745,395.12. The trade was a 11.41% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Agilent Technologies

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Greenleaf Trust grew its holdings in shares of Agilent Technologies by 0.8% in the 2nd quarter. Greenleaf Trust now owns 8,117 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $1,078,000 after acquiring an additional 68 shares during the last quarter. Nilsine Partners LLC raised its position 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 worth $1,282,000 after purchasing an additional 72 shares during the period. Sapient Capital LLC lifted its holdings 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 last quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Agilent Technologies by 0.8% during the second quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC now owns 11,555 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $1,535,000 after purchasing an additional 88 shares during the last quarter. Finally, UNIVEST FINANCIAL Corp boosted its position in shares of Agilent Technologies by 1.3% in the 2nd quarter. UNIVEST FINANCIAL Corp now owns 7,145 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $949,000 after purchasing 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.

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