Royal Bank of Canada Cuts Position in Agilent Technologies, Inc. $A

Key Points

• Royal Bank of Canada reduced its stake in Agilent Technologies by 10.0%, now owning 750,470 shares valued at approximately $87.79 million.
• Despite the decrease in shares, Agilent Technologies reported a strong quarterly revenue of $1.74 billion, exceeding analysts' expectations and showing a 10.1% increase from the same quarter last year.
• Analysts have set a mixed outlook for Agilent Technologies with target prices ranging from $125.00 to $140.00, and an average rating of "Moderate Buy".

Royal Bank of Canada trimmed its stake in shares of Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A - Free Report) by 10.0% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 750,470 shares of the medical research company's stock after selling 83,571 shares during the period. Royal Bank of Canada owned approximately 0.26% of Agilent Technologies worth $87,791,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Graham Capital Management L.P. acquired a new position in shares of Agilent Technologies in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $1,860,000. Retirement Planning Co of New England Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Agilent Technologies during the first quarter worth approximately $324,000. Quarry LP purchased a new position in shares of Agilent Technologies in the first quarter worth $143,000. Calton & Associates Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Agilent Technologies during the 1st quarter valued at $420,000. Finally, Magnetar Financial LLC raised its position in Agilent Technologies by 177.3% in the 1st quarter. Magnetar Financial LLC now owns 99,060 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $11,588,000 after buying an additional 63,336 shares during the last quarter.

Insider Activity

In other Agilent Technologies news, CEO Padraig Mcdonnell sold 1,508 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated 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 $4,397,893.12. This represents a 3.87% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A has been the topic of several recent research reports. Barclays restated an "equal weight" rating and set a $125.00 price target on shares of Agilent Technologies in a report on Friday, August 29th. Leerink Partners increased their price objective on Agilent Technologies to $135.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, May 30th. UBS Group dropped their price target on Agilent Technologies from $150.00 to $130.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, May 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on Agilent Technologies from $160.00 to $155.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, May 29th. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded Agilent Technologies from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $139.25.

Agilent Technologies Stock Performance

A stock traded down $1.13 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $127.62. 1,421,696 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,955,981. Agilent Technologies, Inc. has a 1-year low of $96.43 and a 1-year high of $153.84. The firm has a market cap of $36.18 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.83, a PEG ratio of 4.00 and a beta of 1.24. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $119.22 and its 200-day simple moving average is $116.05. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53, a current ratio of 2.25 and a quick ratio of 1.71.

Agilent Technologies (NYSE:A - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, August 27th. The medical research company reported $1.37 EPS for the quarter, meeting 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 analysts' expectations of $1.67 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.32 earnings per share. Agilent Technologies's revenue for the quarter was up 10.1% compared to the same quarter last year. 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, analysts expect that Agilent Technologies, Inc. will post 5.58 earnings per share 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.