Kentucky Retirement Systems Boosts Stock Holdings in Agilent Technologies, Inc. $A

Kentucky Retirement Systems raised its position in shares of Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A) by 52.7% in the first quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 27,311 shares of the medical research company’s stock after acquiring an additional 9,421 shares during the quarter. Kentucky Retirement Systems’ holdings in Agilent Technologies were worth $3,113,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in A. Fiduciary Trust Co lifted its holdings in Agilent Technologies by 1.6% in the 3rd quarter. Fiduciary Trust Co now owns 4,931 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $633,000 after purchasing an additional 77 shares in the last quarter. Freestone Capital Holdings LLC grew its holdings in shares of Agilent Technologies by 2.0% during the fourth quarter. Freestone Capital Holdings LLC now owns 4,218 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $574,000 after buying an additional 84 shares in the last quarter. Plan A Wealth LLC raised its position in shares of Agilent Technologies by 3.2% in the fourth quarter. Plan A Wealth LLC now owns 2,959 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $403,000 after buying an additional 92 shares during the last quarter. IHT Wealth Management LLC raised its position in shares of Agilent Technologies by 4.9% in the fourth quarter. IHT Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,041 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $278,000 after buying an additional 96 shares during the last quarter. Finally, PFG Investments LLC lifted its stake in shares of Agilent Technologies by 3.8% in the first quarter. PFG Investments LLC now owns 2,837 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $323,000 after buying an additional 104 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.41% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Barclays boosted their price target on shares of Agilent Technologies from $145.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 24th. HSBC cut their price target on Agilent Technologies from $180.00 to $165.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, June 3rd. Wolfe Research reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Agilent Technologies in a research note on Tuesday, June 2nd. Robert W. Baird lifted their price target on Agilent Technologies from $155.00 to $156.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 26th. Finally, TD Cowen upped their price objective on shares of Agilent Technologies from $147.00 to $155.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, May 28th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have given a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $159.35.

Agilent Technologies Stock Down 1.1%

Shares of NYSE:A opened at $138.72 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $39.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.86, a PEG ratio of 2.49 and a beta of 1.25. Agilent Technologies, Inc. has a 12-month low of $108.35 and a 12-month high of $160.27. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $131.89 and a 200 day moving average price of $125.21. The company has a current ratio of 2.10, a quick ratio of 1.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43.

Agilent Technologies (NYSE:A) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, May 27th. The medical research company reported $1.49 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.41 by $0.08. The company had revenue of $1.83 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.80 billion. Agilent Technologies had a net margin of 19.55% and a return on equity of 24.33%. Agilent Technologies’s revenue was up 10.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.31 earnings per share. Agilent Technologies has set its FY 2026 guidance at 6.000-6.100 EPS and its Q3 2026 guidance at 1.480-1.500 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Agilent Technologies, Inc. will post 6.01 EPS for the current year.

Agilent Technologies Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 22nd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, June 30th were paid a dividend of $0.255 per share. This represents a $1.02 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, June 30th. Agilent Technologies’s dividend payout ratio is 20.48%.

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.