Agilent Technologies, Inc. $A Shares Sold by Hancock Whitney Corp

Key Points

• Hancock Whitney Corp has reduced its stake in Agilent Technologies by 71.9%, now holding 2,951 shares valued at $345,000.
• Various hedge funds altered their positions in Agilent, with Mirae Asset Global Investments increasing its holdings by 13.5% to own 36,674 shares worth $4,279,000.
• Analysts have mixed views on Agilent, with target prices ranging from $128.00 to $155.00, and six analysts rating it as a "Buy" and six as a "Hold."

Hancock Whitney Corp trimmed its position in Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A - Free Report) by 71.9% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,951 shares of the medical research company's stock after selling 7,562 shares during the quarter. Hancock Whitney Corp's holdings in Agilent Technologies were worth $345,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Brighton Jones LLC increased its stake in Agilent Technologies by 6.1% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 4,663 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $626,000 after purchasing an additional 270 shares during the period. Captrust Financial Advisors increased its stake in Agilent Technologies by 8.5% in the fourth quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 22,578 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $3,033,000 after purchasing an additional 1,769 shares during the period. D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. increased its stake in Agilent Technologies by 183.7% in the fourth quarter. D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. now owns 38,203 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $5,132,000 after purchasing an additional 24,739 shares during the period. Ensign Peak Advisors Inc increased its stake in Agilent Technologies by 370.0% in the fourth quarter. Ensign Peak Advisors Inc now owns 124,575 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $16,735,000 after purchasing an additional 98,068 shares during the period. Finally, Focus Partners Wealth boosted its holdings in shares of Agilent Technologies by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 101,225 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $13,732,000 after acquiring an additional 444 shares in the last quarter. 87.41% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have issued reports on A. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on shares of Agilent Technologies from $160.00 to $155.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, May 29th. TD Cowen upped their price target on shares of Agilent Technologies to $150.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, May 29th. Evercore ISI reduced their price target on shares of Agilent Technologies from $130.00 to $128.00 and set an "in-line" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, August 28th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of Agilent Technologies from $135.00 to $140.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, August 28th. Finally, Leerink Partners boosted their price objective on shares of Agilent Technologies to $135.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, May 30th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $139.25.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Padraig Mcdonnell sold 1,508 shares of Agilent Technologies stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $117.44, for a total value of $177,099.52. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 37,448 shares in the company, valued at $4,397,893.12. This trade represents a 3.87% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.26% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Agilent Technologies Stock Performance

Shares of Agilent Technologies stock traded down $3.54 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $123.19. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,250,804 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,689,851. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $119.76 and its 200 day simple moving average is $115.87. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53, a quick ratio of 1.71 and a current ratio of 2.25. Agilent Technologies, Inc. has a one year low of $96.43 and a one year high of $153.84. The stock has a market cap of $34.92 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.92, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.94 and a beta of 1.24.

Agilent Technologies (NYSE:A - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 27th. The medical research company reported $1.37 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting analysts' consensus estimates of $1.37. Agilent Technologies had a net margin of 17.97% and a return on equity of 25.51%. The company had revenue of $1.74 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.67 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.32 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 10.1% on a year-over-year basis. 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, analysts expect that Agilent Technologies, Inc. will post 5.58 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Agilent Technologies Company 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.