Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA Raises Stock Position in Agilent Technologies, Inc. $A

Key Points

• Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its stake in Agilent by 13.8% to 14,147,601 shares, representing 4.99% ownership valued at about $1.925 billion.
• Wall Street consensus rates Agilent as a Moderate Buy with an average target price of $161.20, though several analysts recently trimmed their price targets while others maintained buy/outperform ratings.
• Agilent slightly missed the quarter with EPS of $1.36 on $1.80B revenue, set FY2026 guidance of $5.90–$6.04 EPS, and announced a $0.255 quarterly dividend (≈0.9% yield).

Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its position in shares of Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A - Free Report) by 13.8% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 14,147,601 shares of the medical research company's stock after acquiring an additional 1,713,216 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA owned 4.99% of Agilent Technologies worth $1,925,064,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its stake in Agilent Technologies by 4.8% during the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 9,380,521 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $1,203,990,000 after acquiring an additional 433,342 shares in the last quarter. Generation Investment Management LLP grew its stake in Agilent Technologies by 10.1% during the third quarter. Generation Investment Management LLP now owns 6,357,953 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $816,043,000 after acquiring an additional 582,093 shares in the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. grew its stake in Agilent Technologies by 15.1% during the third quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 2,708,591 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $347,685,000 after acquiring an additional 354,480 shares in the last quarter. Troy Asset Management Ltd grew its stake in Agilent Technologies by 0.3% during the third quarter. Troy Asset Management Ltd now owns 2,404,161 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $308,574,000 after acquiring an additional 6,341 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc grew its stake in Agilent Technologies by 0.9% during the third quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 2,189,639 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $281,040,000 after acquiring an additional 19,874 shares in the last quarter.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have commented on A. Barclays cut their price target on shares of Agilent Technologies from $165.00 to $150.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 26th. Evercore raised shares of Agilent Technologies from an "in-line" rating to an "outperform" rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $155.00 to $160.00 in a research note on Monday, January 5th. TD Cowen cut their price target on shares of Agilent Technologies from $170.00 to $157.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 26th. UBS Group cut their price target on shares of Agilent Technologies from $180.00 to $165.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 26th. Finally, Morgan Stanley cut their price target on shares of Agilent Technologies from $180.00 to $160.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, March 3rd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have issued a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $161.20.

Agilent Technologies Price Performance

A stock opened at $115.11 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44, a current ratio of 2.07 and a quick ratio of 1.59. Agilent Technologies, Inc. has a one year low of $98.86 and a one year high of $160.27. The stock has a market cap of $32.53 billion, a PE ratio of 25.41, a P/E/G ratio of 2.43 and a beta of 1.30. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $119.35 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $134.04.

Agilent Technologies (NYSE:A - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 25th. The medical research company reported $1.36 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.37 by ($0.01). Agilent Technologies had a net margin of 18.26% and a return on equity of 24.49%. The business had revenue of $1.80 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.81 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.31 EPS. Agilent Technologies's revenue for the quarter was up 7.0% on a year-over-year basis. Agilent Technologies has set its FY 2026 guidance at 5.900-6.040 EPS and its Q2 2026 guidance at 1.390-1.420 EPS. On average, analysts predict that Agilent Technologies, Inc. will post 5.58 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Agilent Technologies Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 22nd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 31st will be paid a $0.255 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 31st. This represents a $1.02 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.9%. Agilent Technologies's dividend payout ratio is 22.52%.

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.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding A? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A - Free Report).

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.