Legal & General Group Plc Purchases New Stake in Agilent Technologies, Inc. $A

Key Points

• Legal & General Group Plc acquired 1.96 million Agilent Technologies shares worth approximately $260.1 million, representing a 0.69% stake. Other institutions, including Bank of New York Mellon and AQR Capital Management, also increased their holdings.
• Agilent reported a strong fiscal third quarter, with revenue up 8.1% year over year to $1.88 billion and adjusted EPS of $1.62, surpassing analyst estimates. Operating profit and cash flow also improved substantially.
• Management raised fiscal 2026 guidance to adjusted EPS of $6.18–$6.21 and revenue of about $7.5 billion, citing improving laboratory-tools demand. However, the stock trades near its 52-week high at a P/E above 31, leaving shares vulnerable if growth or future guidance weakens.

Legal & General Group Plc purchased a new stake in shares of Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A - Free Report) in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor purchased 1,958,152 shares of the medical research company's stock, valued at approximately $260,101,000. Legal & General Group Plc owned 0.69% of Agilent Technologies as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Agilent Technologies during the fourth quarter valued at about $549,158,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its stake in shares of Agilent Technologies by 87.4% in the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 5,233,964 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $695,227,000 after purchasing an additional 2,440,360 shares during the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Agilent Technologies by 424.1% during the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 2,041,826 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $240,956,000 after purchasing an additional 1,652,244 shares during the period. Ameriprise Financial Inc. increased its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 1,340,161 shares during the period. Finally, Findlay Park Partners LLP bought a new position in Agilent Technologies during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $174,281,000.

Agilent Technologies News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Agilent Technologies this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Agilent reported fiscal Q3 revenue of $1.88 billion, up 8.1% year over year and ahead of the roughly $1.84 billion consensus estimate. Adjusted EPS of $1.62 exceeded estimates near $1.48-$1.49 and rose from $1.37 a year earlier. Agilent Technologies Q3 Earnings and Revenues Top Estimates
• Positive Sentiment: Profitability and cash generation strengthened. Operating profit increased 23.3% to $444 million, operating cash flow rose 43.4% to $519 million, and the company ended the quarter with $1.8 billion in cash. GAAP net income reached $362 million, or $1.28 per diluted share, versus $336 million, or $1.18, a year earlier. Agilent Reports Third-Quarter Fiscal Year 2026 Financial Results
• Positive Sentiment: Agilent raised fiscal 2026 adjusted EPS guidance to $6.18-$6.21, above the approximately $6.06 consensus, and projected revenue of about $7.5 billion versus expectations near $7.4 billion. Management cited improving laboratory-tools demand. Fourth-quarter guidance was broadly in line with analyst estimates. Agilent Raises Annual Profit Forecast
• Neutral Sentiment: Institutional investor positioning was mixed: 594 investors increased holdings in the latest quarter, while 550 reduced positions. Recent analyst targets have a median of $155, suggesting limited near-term upside relative to the recent trading level.
• Negative Sentiment: Despite the earnings beat, Agilent trades at a relatively demanding valuation, with a P/E ratio above 31, and the stock is close to its 12-month high. This could make the shares more sensitive to any slowdown in laboratory-equipment demand or future guidance disappointments.

Agilent Technologies Price Performance

A stock opened at $155.16 on Thursday. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $139.16 and a 200-day moving average price of $126.65. Agilent Technologies, Inc. has a 52-week low of $108.35 and a 52-week high of $160.51. The firm has a market capitalization of $43.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.16, a PEG ratio of 2.73 and a beta of 1.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43, a quick ratio of 1.62 and a current ratio of 2.10.

Agilent Technologies (NYSE:A - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 26th. The medical research company reported $1.62 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.49 by $0.13. The firm had revenue of $1.88 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.84 billion. Agilent Technologies had a return on equity of 24.33% and a net margin of 19.55%.The business's revenue for the quarter was up 8.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.37 EPS. Agilent Technologies has set its Q4 2026 guidance at 1.710-1.740 EPS and its FY 2026 guidance at 6.180-6.210 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that Agilent Technologies, Inc. will post 6.05 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on A shares. Sanford C. Bernstein started coverage on Agilent Technologies in a report on Friday, June 26th. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $155.00 price objective for the company. Piper Sandler began coverage on Agilent Technologies in a report on Thursday, June 11th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $150.00 target price for the company. Bank of America raised Agilent Technologies from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and dropped their price target for the stock from $150.00 to $145.00 in a research note on Thursday, May 28th. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Agilent Technologies from $145.00 to $150.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, June 24th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada started coverage on shares of Agilent Technologies in a report on Wednesday, May 27th. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $153.00 price objective for the company. Two investment 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's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Agilent Technologies currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $160.24.

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.

Continue following MarketBeat

Add MarketBeat as your preferred source on Google to see our latest stories in your feed.

Add As Preferred Source