Canada Pension Plan Investment Board Boosts Stake in Agilent Technologies, Inc. $A

Key Points

• The Canada Pension Plan Investment Board increased its stake in Agilent Technologies by 242.3% in Q1, acquiring a total of 75,204 shares worth approximately $8.8 million.
• Analysts have mixed opinions on Agilent Technologies, with a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a target price of $139.25, while recent reports have seen price targets adjusted between $128.00 and $142.00.
• During Q2, Agilent Technologies reported earnings per share of $1.37 with revenue exceeding expectations at $1.74 billion, and it projects earnings guidance of $5.56 to $5.59 for FY 2025.

Canada Pension Plan Investment Board raised its position in Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A - Free Report) by 242.3% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 75,204 shares of the medical research company's stock after buying an additional 53,234 shares during the quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board's holdings in Agilent Technologies were worth $8,797,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Parnassus Investments LLC raised its position in Agilent Technologies by 38.3% during the first quarter. Parnassus Investments LLC now owns 1,577,999 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $184,594,000 after purchasing an additional 437,242 shares in the last quarter. Trexquant Investment LP raised its position in Agilent Technologies by 95.7% during the first quarter. Trexquant Investment LP now owns 87,623 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $10,250,000 after purchasing an additional 42,842 shares in the last quarter. OMERS ADMINISTRATION Corp raised its position in Agilent Technologies by 13.7% during the first quarter. OMERS ADMINISTRATION Corp now owns 23,467 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $2,745,000 after purchasing an additional 2,833 shares in the last quarter. B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. AG raised its position in Agilent Technologies by 7.4% during the first quarter. B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. AG now owns 11,479 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $1,343,000 after purchasing an additional 794 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Samalin Investment Counsel LLC raised its position in Agilent Technologies by 10.6% during the first quarter. Samalin Investment Counsel LLC now owns 2,609 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $305,000 after purchasing an additional 250 shares in the last quarter. 87.41% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Padraig Mcdonnell sold 1,508 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $117.44, for a total value 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 filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.26% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have commented on A. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on shares of Agilent Technologies from $160.00 to $155.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, May 29th. 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. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Agilent Technologies from $135.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, August 28th. Barclays reaffirmed an "equal weight" rating and set a $125.00 target price on shares of Agilent Technologies in a research note on Friday, August 29th. Finally, UBS Group decreased their target price on shares of Agilent Technologies from $150.00 to $130.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, May 29th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $139.25.

Agilent Technologies Stock Performance

A traded up $0.21 on Friday, hitting $128.69. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,633,203 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,522,644. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $119.22 and its 200-day simple moving average is $116.19. The firm has a market cap of $36.48 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.21, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.00 and a beta of 1.24. Agilent Technologies, Inc. has a 12 month low of $96.43 and a 12 month high of $153.84. The company has a quick ratio of 1.71, a current ratio of 2.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53.

Agilent Technologies (NYSE:A - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 27th. The medical research company reported $1.37 EPS for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $1.37. The company 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 25.51%. Agilent Technologies's revenue for the quarter was up 10.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last 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. Analysts forecast that Agilent Technologies, Inc. will post 5.58 EPS for the current 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.