Agilent Technologies (NYSE:A) Hits New 12-Month High - Still a Buy?

Key Points

• Agilent Technologies reached a new 52-week high of $177.47, with the stock last trading near $175.27. Its 50-day and 200-day moving averages were $158.46 and $137.30, respectively.
• Analyst sentiment remains positive, with 15 Buy ratings and four Holds; the consensus rating is Moderate Buy. Recent firms raised price targets to between $180 and $196, although the consensus target of $173.65 is below the current share price.
• Agilent exceeded quarterly expectations, reporting $1.62 in EPS versus $1.49 expected and $1.88 billion in revenue, up 8.1% year over year. The company also declared a quarterly dividend of $0.255, representing a 0.6% yield.

Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A - Get Free Report) hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Friday. The company traded as high as $177.47 and last traded at $175.27, with a volume of 161,141 shares. The stock had previously closed at $175.55.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price objective on Agilent Technologies from $170.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, August 27th. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their price target on shares of Agilent Technologies from $155.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, August 27th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of Agilent Technologies from $180.00 to $190.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, August 27th. Barclays increased their target price on shares of Agilent Technologies from $175.00 to $195.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 7th. Finally, TD Cowen lifted their price target on Agilent Technologies from $180.00 to $196.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday. Fifteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $173.65.

Agilent Technologies Stock Performance

The company has a current ratio of 2.05, a quick ratio of 1.56 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50. The company has a market capitalization of $49.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.54, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.65 and a beta of 1.21. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $158.46 and a 200-day simple moving average of $137.30.

Agilent Technologies (NYSE:A - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 26th. The medical research company reported $1.62 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.49 by $0.13. Agilent Technologies had a return on equity of 24.45% and a net margin of 19.53%. The business had revenue of $1.88 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.84 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.37 EPS. The business's quarterly revenue was up 8.1% on a year-over-year basis. 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. On average, analysts anticipate that Agilent Technologies, Inc. will post 6.20 earnings per share for the current year.

Agilent Technologies Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 28th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, October 6th will be given a $0.2550 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, October 6th. This represents a $1.02 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.6%. Agilent Technologies's payout ratio is 20.08%.

Insider Activity at Agilent Technologies

In other Agilent Technologies news, Director Mikael Dolsten sold 634 shares of Agilent Technologies stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $151.38, for a total transaction of $95,974.92. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 4,924 shares in the company, valued at approximately $745,395.12. The trade was a 11.41% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of A. SHP Wealth Management bought a new position in Agilent Technologies in the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. Markowski Investments bought a new stake in Agilent Technologies during the second quarter worth about $27,000. MV Capital Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Agilent Technologies during the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. Cedar Mountain Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Agilent Technologies in the first quarter valued at $27,000. Finally, Keating Financial Advisory Services Inc. bought a new position in Agilent Technologies in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $31,000.

About Agilent Technologies

Agilent Technologies, Inc is an analytical measurement and laboratory technology company serving the life sciences, diagnostics, pharmaceutical, chemical, environmental, food, energy and academic research markets. Its solutions help laboratories analyze the composition, quality and performance of materials, biological samples and other substances.

The company's products and services include liquid and gas chromatography systems, mass spectrometry instruments, spectroscopy equipment, laboratory automation tools, software, consumables and supplies.

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