Perpetual Ltd Purchases 6,318 Shares of Agilent Technologies, Inc. $A

Key Points

• Perpetual Ltd increased its holdings in Agilent Technologies by 26.2% in the second quarter, owning 30,416 shares valued at approximately $3.59 million.
• CEO Padraig Mcdonnell sold 1,508 shares of Agilent stock, decreasing his ownership by 3.87% and bringing his remaining shares to 37,448.
• Agilent Technologies reported $1.74 billion in revenue for the last quarter, exceeding analyst estimates and achieving a net margin of 17.97%.

Perpetual Ltd grew its stake in Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A - Free Report) by 26.2% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 30,416 shares of the medical research company's stock after acquiring an additional 6,318 shares during the quarter. Perpetual Ltd's holdings in Agilent Technologies were worth $3,589,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Whipplewood Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Agilent Technologies by 286.2% in the 1st quarter. Whipplewood Advisors LLC now owns 251 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 186 shares during the period. Sunbelt Securities Inc. grew its position in shares of Agilent Technologies by 640.0% in the 4th quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. now owns 222 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 192 shares during the period. Stone House Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Agilent Technologies in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Agilent Technologies in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Finally, Ransom Advisory Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Agilent Technologies in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $32,000.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on Agilent Technologies from $140.00 to $150.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, September 15th. Evercore ISI reduced their price target on Agilent Technologies from $130.00 to $128.00 and set an "in-line" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, August 28th. Barclays reaffirmed an "equal weight" rating and set a $125.00 price target on shares of Agilent Technologies in a research report on Friday, August 29th. TD Cowen upped their price target on Agilent Technologies to $150.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 29th. Finally, Robert W. Baird upped their price target on Agilent Technologies from $141.00 to $142.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, August 28th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Agilent Technologies has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $140.08.

Insider Transactions at Agilent Technologies

In other Agilent Technologies news, CEO Padraig Mcdonnell sold 1,508 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $117.44, for a total value of $177,099.52. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 37,448 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,397,893.12. The trade was a 3.87% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink.

Agilent Technologies Trading Up 0.0%

Shares of Agilent Technologies stock traded up $0.04 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $126.37. The company had a trading volume of 157,751 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,936,950. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $120.37 and a 200 day moving average price of $115.81. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53, a current ratio of 2.25 and a quick ratio of 1.71. The firm has a market cap of $35.83 billion, a PE ratio of 29.64, a P/E/G ratio of 3.93 and a beta of 1.24. Agilent Technologies, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $96.43 and a fifty-two week high of $153.84.

Agilent Technologies (NYSE:A - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 27th. The medical research company reported $1.37 EPS for the quarter, hitting analysts' consensus estimates of $1.37. The company had revenue of $1.74 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.67 billion. Agilent Technologies had a return on equity of 25.51% and a net margin of 17.97%.The firm's quarterly revenue was up 10.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.32 earnings per share. Agilent Technologies has set its FY 2025 guidance at 5.560-5.590 EPS. Q4 2025 guidance at 1.570-1.600 EPS. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Agilent Technologies, Inc. will post 5.58 earnings per share for the current year.

Agilent Technologies Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 22nd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 30th will be paid a $0.248 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 30th. This represents a $0.99 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.8%. Agilent Technologies's payout ratio is 23.24%.

Agilent Technologies Profile

Agilent Technologies, Inc provides application focused solutions to the life sciences, diagnostics, and applied chemical markets worldwide. The company operates in three segments: Life Sciences and Applied Markets, Diagnostics and Genomics, and Agilent CrossLab. The Life Sciences and Applied Markets segment offers liquid chromatography systems and components; liquid chromatography mass spectrometry systems; gas chromatography systems and components; gas chromatography mass spectrometry systems; inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry instruments; atomic absorption instruments; microwave plasma-atomic emission spectrometry instruments; inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectrometry instruments; raman spectroscopy; cell analysis plate based assays; flow cytometer; real-time cell analyzer; cell imaging systems; microplate reader; laboratory software; information management and analytics; laboratory automation and robotic systems; dissolution testing; and vacuum pumps, and measurement technologies.