Agilent Technologies, Inc. $A Shares Purchased by Financiere des Professionnels Fonds d investissement inc.

Key Points

• Financiere des Professionnels Fonds d investissement inc. increased its holdings in Agilent Technologies by 19.5%, acquiring an additional 16,346 shares during the second quarter, bringing its total ownership to 100,301 shares valued at approximately $11.8 million.
• Several institutional investors, including Royal Bank of Canada and Two Sigma Advisers LP, also boosted their stakes in Agilent Technologies in the fourth quarter, reflecting growing confidence in the company.
• Agilent Technologies reported $1.37 earnings per share for the last quarter, meeting analysts' expectations, while its revenue of $1.74 billion surpassed forecasts, indicating a 10.1% year-over-year growth.

Financiere des Professionnels Fonds d investissement inc. raised its position in Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A - Free Report) by 19.5% during the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 100,301 shares of the medical research company's stock after purchasing an additional 16,346 shares during the period. Financiere des Professionnels Fonds d investissement inc.'s holdings in Agilent Technologies were worth $11,837,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. lifted its holdings in Agilent Technologies by 13.5% in the 1st quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 36,674 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $4,279,000 after purchasing an additional 4,362 shares in the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its holdings in shares of Agilent Technologies by 8.3% during the 1st quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 30,827 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $3,606,000 after acquiring an additional 2,371 shares during the period. Alps Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Agilent Technologies by 29.5% during the 1st quarter. Alps Advisors Inc. now owns 13,358 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $1,563,000 after acquiring an additional 3,040 shares during the period. D.A. Davidson & CO. raised its holdings in shares of Agilent Technologies by 30.4% during the 1st quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. now owns 9,474 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $1,108,000 after acquiring an additional 2,207 shares during the period. Finally, LGT Capital Partners LTD. raised its holdings in shares of Agilent Technologies by 7.6% during the 1st quarter. LGT Capital Partners LTD. now owns 768,252 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $89,870,000 after acquiring an additional 54,302 shares during the period.

Agilent Technologies Stock Up 0.7%

Agilent Technologies stock traded up $0.95 during trading on Thursday, reaching $127.67. The stock had a trading volume of 1,513,219 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,788,538. Agilent Technologies, Inc. has a 52-week low of $96.43 and a 52-week high of $153.84. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $120.19 and a 200 day moving average price of $115.94. The company has a quick ratio of 1.71, a current ratio of 2.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53. The stock has a market cap of $36.19 billion, a PE ratio of 29.97, a P/E/G ratio of 3.94 and a beta of 1.24.

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 (EPS) for the quarter, hitting analysts' consensus estimates 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%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 10.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.32 earnings per share. 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 predict that Agilent Technologies, Inc. will post 5.58 EPS for the current year.

Agilent Technologies Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 22nd. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 30th will be issued a $0.248 dividend. This represents a $0.99 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 30th. Agilent Technologies's dividend payout ratio is 23.24%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently commented on the company. Leerink Partners lifted their price target on Agilent Technologies to $135.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, May 30th. Barclays reiterated an "equal weight" rating and set a $125.00 price target on shares of Agilent Technologies in a report on Friday, August 29th. Wall Street Zen downgraded Agilent Technologies from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, September 5th. Robert W. Baird raised their price objective on Agilent Technologies from $141.00 to $142.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, August 28th. Finally, TD Cowen lifted their target price on Agilent Technologies to $150.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 29th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $140.08.

Insider Transactions at Agilent Technologies

In related news, CEO Padraig Mcdonnell sold 1,508 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 1st. The stock was 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 $4,397,893.12. This represents a 3.87% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink.

About Agilent Technologies

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.