Agilent Technologies, Inc. $A Shares Sold by Baird Financial Group Inc.

Baird Financial Group Inc. lessened its stake in shares of Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A) by 8.7% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 57,457 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 5,468 shares during the period. Baird Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Agilent Technologies were worth $6,781,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of A. Stone House Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Agilent Technologies during the first quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Ransom Advisory Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Agilent Technologies in the first quarter worth approximately $32,000. Central Pacific Bank Trust Division purchased a new stake in shares of Agilent Technologies during the second quarter worth approximately $33,000. Zions Bancorporation National Association UT acquired a new position in Agilent Technologies in the 1st quarter valued at $38,000. Finally, Ameritas Advisory Services LLC acquired a new position in Agilent Technologies in the 2nd quarter valued at $64,000.

Agilent Technologies Trading Down 2.2%

Shares of Agilent Technologies stock opened at $142.34 on Tuesday. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $145.21 and a 200 day moving average of $128.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45, a quick ratio of 1.52 and a current ratio of 1.96. The firm has a market capitalization of $40.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.15, a PEG ratio of 4.22 and a beta of 1.27. Agilent Technologies, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $96.43 and a fifty-two week high of $160.27.

Agilent Technologies (NYSE:A) last posted its earnings results on Monday, November 24th. The medical research company reported $1.59 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.58 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $1.86 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.83 billion. Agilent Technologies had a return on equity of 25.20% and a net margin of 18.75%.The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.46 earnings per share. Agilent Technologies has set its Q1 2026 guidance at 1.350-1.380 EPS and its FY 2026 guidance at 5.860-6.000 EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that Agilent Technologies, Inc. will post 5.58 earnings per share for the current year.

Agilent Technologies Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 28th. Investors of record on Tuesday, January 6th will be given a dividend of $0.255 per share. This represents a $1.02 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, January 6th. This is an increase from Agilent Technologies’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. Agilent Technologies’s dividend payout ratio is 21.66%.

Insider Activity at Agilent Technologies

In related news, CEO Padraig Mcdonnell sold 911 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $143.24, for a total transaction of $130,491.64. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 32,058 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,591,987.92. The trade was a 2.76% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, VP Rodney Gonsalves sold 3,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $154.99, for a total transaction of $464,970.00. Following the sale, the vice president owned 31,846 shares in the company, valued at $4,935,811.54. The trade was a 8.61% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold a total of 16,401 shares of company stock valued at $2,468,962 in the last quarter.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on A shares. Citigroup lifted their target price on shares of Agilent Technologies from $165.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 25th. Evercore ISI raised their price target on shares of Agilent Technologies from $128.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 7th. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of Agilent Technologies from $145.00 to $165.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 25th. Bank of America increased their price objective on shares of Agilent Technologies from $150.00 to $165.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 25th. Finally, Rothschild Redb raised shares of Agilent Technologies to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have issued a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $161.08.

About Agilent Technologies

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.