Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. Trims Stock Holdings in Agilent Technologies, Inc. $A

Key Points

• Sumitomo Mitsui Trust trimmed its stake in Agilent by 4.9% to 636,708 shares (about 0.22% of the company, valued at ~$86.6M), while several large institutions including Massachusetts Financial Services, AQR, Ameriprise, SG Americas and Lazard substantially increased their holdings—MFS now owns 14.15M shares (~$1.93B).
• Agilent slightly missed quarterly estimates with $1.36 EPS vs $1.37 expected and $1.80B revenue vs $1.81B expected, but provided FY2026 guidance of $5.900–6.040 EPS and Q2 guidance of $1.390–1.420, with revenue up 7% year-over-year.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.255 (annualized $1.02, yield ~0.8%, ex-dividend March 31), and the stock trades around $120.40 while carrying a consensus "Moderate Buy" rating and an average target price of about $160.53.

Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. lowered its stake in Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A - Free Report) by 4.9% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 636,708 shares of the medical research company's stock after selling 32,811 shares during the quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. owned about 0.22% of Agilent Technologies worth $86,637,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its stake in shares of Agilent Technologies by 13.8% in the 4th quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 14,147,601 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $1,925,064,000 after acquiring an additional 1,713,216 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of 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 worth $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% in 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 last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC increased its holdings in Agilent Technologies by 3,091.1% in the 4th quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 808,215 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $109,974,000 after purchasing an additional 782,888 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Lazard Asset Management LLC raised its position in Agilent Technologies by 639.4% in the second quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 678,718 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $80,093,000 after purchasing an additional 586,931 shares during the period.

Agilent Technologies Trading Up 2.5%

NYSE:A opened at $120.40 on Wednesday. Agilent Technologies, Inc. has a 12-month low of $99.12 and a 12-month high of $160.27. The firm has a market cap of $34.03 billion, a PE ratio of 26.58, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.47 and a beta of 1.30. The company has a current ratio of 2.07, a quick ratio of 1.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $118.76 and a 200 day moving average price of $134.11.

Agilent Technologies (NYSE:A - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 25th. The medical research company reported $1.36 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.37 by ($0.01). The company had revenue of $1.80 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.81 billion. Agilent Technologies had a return on equity of 24.49% and a net margin of 18.26%.Agilent Technologies's revenue for the quarter was up 7.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.31 EPS. 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. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Agilent Technologies, Inc. will post 5.58 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Agilent Technologies Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 22nd. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 31st will be issued a $0.255 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 31st. This represents a $1.02 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.8%. Agilent Technologies's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 22.52%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have commented on the company. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on Agilent Technologies from $180.00 to $160.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, March 3rd. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "hold (c+)" rating on shares of Agilent Technologies in a report on Monday, December 29th. HSBC initiated coverage on Agilent Technologies in a research note on Tuesday, January 20th. They set a "buy" rating and a $180.00 target price on the stock. Evercore upgraded Agilent Technologies from an "in-line" rating to an "outperform" rating and raised their target price for the company from $155.00 to $160.00 in a report on Monday, January 5th. Finally, TD Cowen dropped their target price on Agilent Technologies from $170.00 to $157.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 26th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have given a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $160.53.

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.