Agilent Technologies, Inc. $A Shares Sold by M&G PLC

Key Points

• M&G PLC reduced its Agilent Technologies stake by 3.1% in the third quarter, selling 21,960 shares; it retained 695,313 shares valued at about $119.6 million.
• Analysts raised price targets, and the stock has a “Moderate Buy” consensus from 18 Buy and four Hold ratings, with an average target of $181.45.
• Agilent beat quarterly earnings and revenue expectations, reporting EPS of $1.62 and revenue of $1.88 billion; revenue rose 8.1% year over year.

M&G PLC cut its holdings in Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A - Free Report) by 3.1% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 695,313 shares of the medical research company's stock after selling 21,960 shares during the period. M&G PLC owned about 0.25% of Agilent Technologies worth $119,594,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the business. Investment Research Partners LLC boosted its stake in Agilent Technologies by 1.8% in the third quarter. Investment Research Partners LLC now owns 3,646 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $628,000 after acquiring an additional 63 shares during the period. Greenleaf Trust raised its position in shares of Agilent Technologies by 0.8% during the 2nd quarter. Greenleaf Trust now owns 8,117 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $1,078,000 after purchasing an additional 68 shares during the period. Plan A Wealth LLC raised its position in shares of Agilent Technologies by 1.9% during the 3rd quarter. Plan A Wealth LLC now owns 3,567 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $615,000 after purchasing an additional 68 shares during the period. Nilsine Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Agilent Technologies by 0.8% in the 2nd 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 last quarter. Finally, Aspiriant LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Agilent Technologies by 2.0% in the 3rd quarter. Aspiriant LLC now owns 3,786 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $652,000 after purchasing an additional 73 shares during the last quarter.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently issued reports on A. Sanford C. Bernstein boosted their price objective on Agilent Technologies from $155.00 to $180.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, August 27th. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their target price on Agilent Technologies from $155.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, August 27th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their target price on Agilent Technologies from $175.00 to $185.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, September 21st. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on shares of Agilent Technologies from $175.00 to $190.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, October 13th. Finally, Bank of America upped their price target on shares of Agilent Technologies from $180.00 to $190.00 in a research report on Friday, October 9th. Eighteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $181.45.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Mikael Dolsten sold 634 shares of the 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 owned 4,924 shares in the company, valued at $745,395.12. This represents a 11.41% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink.

Agilent Technologies Stock Up 3.0%

A opened at $180.09 on Tuesday. Agilent Technologies, Inc. has a 12 month low of $108.35 and a 12 month high of $182.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50, a current ratio of 2.05 and a quick ratio of 1.56. The stock has a market cap of $50.77 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.45, a P/E/G ratio of 2.59 and a beta of 1.24. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $166.45 and its 200 day moving average price is $137.40.

Agilent Technologies (NYSE:A - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 26th. The medical research company reported $1.62 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.49 by $0.13. Agilent Technologies had a return on equity of 24.45% and a net margin of 19.53%. The company had revenue of $1.88 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.84 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.37 EPS. The firm's quarterly 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, Inc. will post 6.20 earnings per share for the current year.

Agilent Technologies Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, October 28th. Investors of record on Tuesday, October 6th were issued a $0.2550 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, October 6th. This represents a $1.02 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.6%. Agilent Technologies's dividend payout ratio is presently 20.08%.

About Agilent Technologies

Agilent Technologies develops and supplies instruments, software, services and consumables used in laboratories and manufacturing operations. Its offerings support applications in life sciences, diagnostics, chemical analysis, food safety, environmental testing and pharmaceutical research.

The company serves customers worldwide, including pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies, clinical and academic laboratories, and organizations in the chemical, energy and food industries. Its services include laboratory equipment maintenance, technical support and related workflow solutions.

Agilent became an independent company in 1999 through a spin-off from Hewlett-Packard.

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