16,204 Agilent Technologies, Inc. $A Shares Sold by Bell Asset Management Ltd

Key Points

• Bell Asset Management cut its Agilent Technologies stake by 53.5%, selling 16,204 shares and retaining 14,058 shares valued at approximately $2.42 million.
• Other major institutions increased their positions, including Deutsche Bank, which raised its stake by 17.1%, and Bank of New York Mellon, which increased holdings by 87.4%.
• Analysts maintain a “Moderate Buy” consensus with an average price target of $171.82; Agilent recently exceeded earnings and revenue expectations and announced a quarterly dividend of $0.255 per share.

Bell Asset Management Ltd reduced its holdings in shares of Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A - Free Report) by 53.5% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 14,058 shares of the medical research company's stock after selling 16,204 shares during the period. Bell Asset Management Ltd's holdings in Agilent Technologies were worth $2,422,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the business. State Street Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Agilent Technologies by 0.7% during the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 12,854,230 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $1,710,658,000 after purchasing an additional 89,598 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its stake in shares of Agilent Technologies by 2.7% in the second quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 7,454,686 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $990,206,000 after acquiring an additional 198,253 shares during the last quarter. Deutsche Bank AG grew its stake in shares of Agilent Technologies by 17.1% in the second quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 7,008,634 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $930,957,000 after acquiring an additional 1,024,516 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its holdings in shares of Agilent Technologies by 87.4% during the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 5,233,964 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $695,227,000 after acquiring an additional 2,440,360 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its holdings in shares of Agilent Technologies by 9.6% during the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,108,764 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $240,336,000 after acquiring an additional 185,223 shares in the last quarter.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Agilent Technologies news, Director Mikael Dolsten sold 634 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $151.38, for a total value of $95,974.92. Following the transaction, the director owned 4,924 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $745,395.12. This represents a 11.41% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently commented on A. Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on shares of Agilent Technologies in a research report on Thursday, July 9th. They set a "hold" rating and a $135.00 price objective on the stock. UBS Group assumed coverage on shares of Agilent Technologies in a research report on Wednesday, September 9th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $165.00 price target for the company. Sanford C. Bernstein boosted their price objective on shares of Agilent Technologies from $155.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, August 27th. 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 report on Thursday, August 27th. Finally, TD Cowen increased their target price on Agilent Technologies from $155.00 to $180.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, August 27th. Fourteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $171.82.

Agilent Technologies Trading Down 0.6%

Shares of A stock opened at $168.07 on Friday. Agilent Technologies, Inc. has a 12-month low of $108.35 and a 12-month high of $177.05. The company has a current ratio of 2.05, a quick ratio of 1.56 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50. The firm's 50 day moving average is $155.20 and its 200 day moving average is $135.18. The stock has a market capitalization of $47.39 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.09, a P/E/G ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 1.21.

Agilent Technologies (NYSE:A - Get Free Report) last posted its 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 the consensus estimate of $1.84 billion. Agilent Technologies had a net margin of 19.53% and a return on equity of 24.45%. The firm's revenue was up 8.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $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. Research analysts expect that Agilent Technologies, Inc. will post 6.2 earnings per share for the current year.

Agilent Technologies Announces Dividend

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

About Agilent Technologies

Agilent Technologies, Inc is an analytical measurement and laboratory technology company serving the life sciences, diagnostics, pharmaceutical, chemical, environmental, food, energy and academic research markets. Its solutions help laboratories analyze the composition, quality and performance of materials, biological samples and other substances.

The company's products and services include liquid and gas chromatography systems, mass spectrometry instruments, spectroscopy equipment, laboratory automation tools, software, consumables and supplies.

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