Hsbc Holdings PLC Increases Stock Position in Agilent Technologies, Inc. $A

Key Points

• HSBC increased its Agilent Technologies stake by 8.6% in the second quarter, adding 93,662 shares to hold 1.19 million shares valued at approximately $157.3 million.
• Several other institutional investors also expanded their positions, including Bank of New York Mellon, AQR Capital Management and Ameriprise Financial, while Norges Bank and Legal & General initiated new stakes.
• Agilent has a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating with an average price target of $160.24. The company recently beat quarterly earnings and revenue expectations, reporting $1.49 in EPS and $1.83 billion in revenue, up 10% year over year.

Hsbc Holdings PLC grew its holdings in Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A - Free Report) by 8.6% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,185,663 shares of the medical research company's stock after purchasing an additional 93,662 shares during the period. Hsbc Holdings PLC owned about 0.42% of Agilent Technologies worth $157,314,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Agilent Technologies in the fourth quarter worth approximately $549,158,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its position in Agilent Technologies by 87.4% during the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 5,233,964 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $695,227,000 after purchasing an additional 2,440,360 shares during the period. Legal & General Group Plc purchased a new stake in Agilent Technologies in the second quarter worth approximately $260,101,000. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its position in Agilent Technologies by 424.1% in the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 2,041,826 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $240,956,000 after purchasing an additional 1,652,244 shares during the period. Finally, Ameriprise Financial Inc. raised its stake in Agilent Technologies by 132.2% during the 2nd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 2,354,111 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $277,807,000 after buying an additional 1,340,161 shares during the last quarter.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A has been the topic of a number of research reports. HSBC dropped their price target on Agilent Technologies from $180.00 to $165.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, June 3rd. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Agilent Technologies from a "hold (c-)" rating to a "hold (c)" rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 2nd. Sanford C. Bernstein began coverage on shares of Agilent Technologies in a research note on Friday, June 26th. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $155.00 price objective on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on shares of Agilent Technologies in a research report on Thursday, July 9th. They issued a "hold" rating and a $135.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Piper Sandler initiated coverage on shares of Agilent Technologies in a research report on Thursday, June 11th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $150.00 price objective for the company. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have issued a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $160.24.

Agilent Technologies Stock Up 0.9%

A stock opened at $154.81 on Wednesday. The business's 50-day moving average price is $138.55 and its 200-day moving average price is $126.47. The stock has a market cap of $43.72 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.09, a PEG ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 1.25. The company has a quick ratio of 1.62, a current ratio of 2.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43. Agilent Technologies, Inc. has a twelve month low of $108.35 and a twelve month high of $160.51.

Agilent Technologies (NYSE:A - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, May 27th. The medical research company reported $1.49 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.41 by $0.08. Agilent Technologies had a net margin of 19.55% and a return on equity of 24.33%. The company had revenue of $1.83 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.80 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.31 EPS. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 10.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Agilent Technologies, Inc. will post 6.05 EPS for the current year.

About Agilent Technologies

Agilent Technologies is a global provider of scientific instrumentation, consumables, software and services for laboratories across the life sciences, diagnostics and applied chemical markets. The company's product portfolio includes analytical instruments such as liquid and gas chromatographs, mass spectrometers, spectroscopy systems, and laboratory automation solutions, together with reagents, supplies and informatics tools that support measurement, testing and data analysis workflows. Agilent also offers instrument maintenance, qualification and laboratory services designed to help customers improve productivity and comply with regulatory requirements.

Founded as a corporate spin-off from Hewlett‑Packard in 1999, Agilent has evolved through a combination of strategic restructuring and acquisitions to concentrate on life sciences, diagnostics and applied laboratories.

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