J. Safra Sarasin Holding AG Cuts Stock Holdings in Agilent Technologies, Inc. $A

Key Points

• J. Safra Sarasin Holding AG reduced its stake in Agilent Technologies by 11.9% in the first quarter, selling 21,484 shares and ending with 158,835 shares valued at about $18.1 million.
• Analyst sentiment is mostly positive, with Agilent carrying a “Moderate Buy” consensus rating and an average target price of $159.35, though some firms recently trimmed price targets or kept hold ratings.
• Agilent beat earnings and revenue expectations in its latest quarter, reporting $1.49 EPS on $1.83 billion in revenue, and it also announced a quarterly dividend of $0.255 per share.

J. Safra Sarasin Holding AG lessened its holdings in Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A - Free Report) by 11.9% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 158,835 shares of the medical research company's stock after selling 21,484 shares during the quarter. J. Safra Sarasin Holding AG owned 0.06% of Agilent Technologies worth $18,100,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Brighton Jones LLC increased its holdings in shares of Agilent Technologies by 6.1% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 4,663 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $626,000 after purchasing an additional 270 shares in the last quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp boosted its holdings in Agilent Technologies by 15.9% during the first quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 5,610 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $602,000 after buying an additional 769 shares in the last quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Agilent Technologies by 54.8% during the first quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 599 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $70,000 after buying an additional 212 shares in the last quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC grew its position in Agilent Technologies by 16.5% during the first quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 5,352 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $625,000 after buying an additional 758 shares during the period. Finally, Sivia Capital Partners LLC acquired a new position in Agilent Technologies during the second quarter worth about $273,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.41% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A has been the subject of a number of research reports. Wolfe Research reiterated a "hold" rating on shares of Agilent Technologies in a research report on Tuesday, June 2nd. Bank of America upgraded Agilent Technologies from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and lowered their price target for the stock from $150.00 to $145.00 in a report on Thursday, May 28th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on Agilent Technologies from $165.00 to $160.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 28th. Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on Agilent Technologies in a report on Thursday. They set a "hold" rating and a $135.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Robert W. Baird boosted their target price on Agilent Technologies from $155.00 to $156.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 26th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have assigned a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $159.35.

Agilent Technologies Stock Performance

Shares of A opened at $134.57 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 2.10, a quick ratio of 1.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43. The stock has a market cap of $38.01 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.02, a PEG ratio of 2.39 and a beta of 1.25. The company has a 50-day moving average of $125.75 and a two-hundred day moving average of $125.68. Agilent Technologies, Inc. has a 12-month low of $108.35 and a 12-month high of $160.27.

Agilent Technologies (NYSE:A - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 27th. The medical research company reported $1.49 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.41 by $0.08. The company had revenue of $1.83 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.80 billion. Agilent Technologies had a net margin of 19.55% and a return on equity of 24.33%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 10.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.31 earnings per share. Agilent Technologies has set its FY 2026 guidance at 6.000-6.100 EPS and its Q3 2026 guidance at 1.480-1.500 EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that Agilent Technologies, Inc. will post 6 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Agilent Technologies Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 22nd. Investors of record on Tuesday, June 30th will be paid a $0.255 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, June 30th. This represents a $1.02 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.8%. Agilent Technologies's dividend payout ratio is presently 20.48%.

Agilent Technologies Profile

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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