Ameriprise Financial Inc. Sells 105,516 Shares of Agilent Technologies, Inc. $A

Key Points

• Ameriprise Financial Inc. has reduced its stake in Agilent Technologies by 9.4%, holding approximately 1,013,950 shares valued at $118.63 million.
• In its latest earnings report, Agilent Technologies exceeded analysts' expectations with earnings per share (EPS) of $1.31 and revenue of $1.67 billion for the quarter.
• Several brokerages have recently upgraded their ratings on Agilent Technologies, with price targets now ranging from $125.00 to $135.00, indicating a consensus target price of $139.77.

Ameriprise Financial Inc. lessened its holdings in shares of Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A - Free Report) by 9.4% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,013,950 shares of the medical research company's stock after selling 105,516 shares during the quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. owned approximately 0.36% of Agilent Technologies worth $118,630,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Whipplewood Advisors LLC grew its position in Agilent Technologies by 286.2% during the first 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 in the last quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. boosted its position in Agilent Technologies by 640.0% during the fourth 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 last quarter. Stone House Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in Agilent Technologies in the first quarter valued at about $30,000. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Agilent Technologies in the 1st quarter worth about $31,000. Finally, Wood Tarver Financial Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Agilent Technologies during the 4th quarter worth about $34,000. 87.41% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently commented on A shares. Leerink Partners boosted their price target on Agilent Technologies to $135.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, May 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on shares of Agilent Technologies from $160.00 to $155.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 29th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of Agilent Technologies from $135.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday. UBS Group cut their price target on shares of Agilent Technologies from $150.00 to $130.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, May 29th. Finally, Robert W. Baird lifted their price objective on shares of Agilent Technologies from $141.00 to $142.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $139.25.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Padraig Mcdonnell sold 1,508 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $117.44, for a total transaction of $177,099.52. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 37,448 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,397,893.12. This trade represents a 3.87% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.26% of the company's stock.

Agilent Technologies Stock Performance

Shares of A traded up $0.30 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $125.26. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,016,595 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,947,192. Agilent Technologies, Inc. has a one year low of $96.43 and a one year high of $153.84. The stock's 50-day moving average is $118.18 and its two-hundred day moving average is $116.76. The firm has a market capitalization of $35.58 billion, a PE ratio of 29.42, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.60 and a beta of 1.22. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55, a quick ratio of 1.60 and a current ratio of 2.09.

Agilent Technologies (NYSE:A - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 27th. The medical research company reported $1.37 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting analysts' consensus estimates of $1.37. The firm had revenue of $1.74 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.67 billion. Agilent Technologies had a net margin of 17.97% and a return on equity of 25.88%. The business's revenue was up 10.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.32 EPS. Agilent Technologies has set its FY 2025 guidance at 5.560-5.590 EPS. Q4 2025 guidance at 1.570-1.600 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Agilent Technologies, Inc. will post 5.58 EPS for the current year.

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.