Primecap Management Co. CA Sells 6,055 Shares of Agilent Technologies, Inc. $A

Primecap Management Co. CA lessened its holdings in shares of Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A) by 0.4% during the second quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 1,531,156 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 6,055 shares during the quarter. Primecap Management Co. CA’s holdings in Agilent Technologies were worth $180,692,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its holdings in shares of Agilent Technologies by 10.7% in the second quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 13,227,387 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $1,560,964,000 after purchasing an additional 1,273,994 shares during the last quarter. Generation Investment Management LLP boosted its holdings in shares of Agilent Technologies by 19.8% during the first quarter. Generation Investment Management LLP now owns 4,983,556 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $582,976,000 after acquiring an additional 824,243 shares during the period. M&G PLC grew its holdings in Agilent Technologies by 255.2% in the 2nd quarter. M&G PLC now owns 893,121 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $105,388,000 after buying an additional 641,698 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC increased its position in Agilent Technologies by 18.7% during the 1st quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 3,836,105 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $448,748,000 after buying an additional 604,124 shares during the period. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Agilent Technologies by 1.8% during the second quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 33,997,845 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $4,012,086,000 after buying an additional 589,219 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.41% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Agilent Technologies

In related news, CEO Padraig Mcdonnell sold 12,490 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $150.00, for a total value of $1,873,500.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 33,448 shares in the company, valued at $5,017,200. The trade was a 27.19% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.26% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Agilent Technologies Stock Performance

Shares of Agilent Technologies stock opened at $144.62 on Thursday. Agilent Technologies, Inc. has a 12 month low of $96.43 and a 12 month high of $153.84. The firm has a market capitalization of $41.00 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.95, a P/E/G ratio of 4.67 and a beta of 1.29. The company has a current ratio of 2.25, a quick ratio of 1.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $138.72 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $124.66.

Agilent Technologies (NYSE:A) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 27th. The medical research company reported $1.37 EPS for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $1.37. Agilent Technologies had a net margin of 17.97% and a return on equity of 25.51%. The business had revenue of $1.74 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.67 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.32 earnings per share. Agilent Technologies’s quarterly revenue was up 10.1% on a year-over-year basis. Agilent Technologies has set its FY 2025 guidance at 5.560-5.590 EPS. Q4 2025 guidance at 1.570-1.600 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that Agilent Technologies, Inc. will post 5.58 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Agilent Technologies Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 28th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, January 6th will be issued a dividend of $0.255 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, January 6th. This is a boost from Agilent Technologies’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. This represents a $1.02 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.7%. Agilent Technologies’s dividend payout ratio is 23.24%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have issued reports on the stock. TD Cowen increased their target price on shares of Agilent Technologies from $150.00 to $162.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 14th. Robert W. Baird boosted their price target on Agilent Technologies from $141.00 to $142.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, August 28th. Rothschild & Co Redburn began coverage on shares of Agilent Technologies in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. They set a “buy” rating and a $165.00 price target on the stock. UBS Group upgraded Agilent Technologies from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price target for the company from $130.00 to $170.00 in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Agilent Technologies from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, October 3rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have assigned a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $149.62.

Agilent Technologies Company Profile

Agilent Technologies, Inc provides application focused solutions to the life sciences, diagnostics, and applied chemical markets worldwide. The company operates in three segments: Life Sciences and Applied Markets, Diagnostics and Genomics, and Agilent CrossLab. The Life Sciences and Applied Markets segment offers liquid chromatography systems and components; liquid chromatography mass spectrometry systems; gas chromatography systems and components; gas chromatography mass spectrometry systems; inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry instruments; atomic absorption instruments; microwave plasma-atomic emission spectrometry instruments; inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectrometry instruments; raman spectroscopy; cell analysis plate based assays; flow cytometer; real-time cell analyzer; cell imaging systems; microplate reader; laboratory software; information management and analytics; laboratory automation and robotic systems; dissolution testing; and vacuum pumps, and measurement technologies.