Principal Financial Group Inc. Purchases 11,858 Shares of Agilent Technologies, Inc. $A

Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A) by 3.5% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 351,715 shares of the medical research company’s stock after buying an additional 11,858 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Agilent Technologies were worth $40,088,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its position in Agilent Technologies by 13.8% during the fourth 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 last quarter. State Street Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Agilent Technologies by 1.9% in the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 12,681,792 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $1,725,611,000 after acquiring an additional 241,029 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Agilent Technologies by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 7,425,861 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $1,006,519,000 after acquiring an additional 25,139 shares during the last quarter. Morgan Stanley boosted its stake in shares of Agilent Technologies by 15.9% in the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 5,041,881 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $686,049,000 after purchasing an additional 692,202 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Agilent Technologies in the 4th quarter valued at $549,158,000. Institutional investors own 87.41% of the company’s stock.

Agilent Technologies Stock Down 3.5%

Shares of NYSE A opened at $131.34 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.62, a current ratio of 2.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43. Agilent Technologies, Inc. has a 52 week low of $108.35 and a 52 week high of $160.27. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $127.49 and its 200 day moving average is $125.63. The company has a market cap of $37.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.37, a PEG ratio of 2.34 and a beta of 1.25.

Agilent Technologies (NYSE:A) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 27th. The medical research company reported $1.49 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.41 by $0.08. The business had revenue of $1.83 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.80 billion. Agilent Technologies had a net margin of 19.55% and a return on equity of 24.33%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.31 EPS. 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. On average, equities research analysts expect that Agilent Technologies, Inc. will post 6 earnings per share for the current year.

Agilent Technologies Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 22nd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, June 30th will be paid a dividend of $0.255 per share. This represents a $1.02 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, June 30th. Agilent Technologies’s dividend payout ratio is 20.48%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the stock. Bank of America upgraded shares of Agilent Technologies from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and decreased their target price for the stock from $150.00 to $145.00 in a research report on Thursday, May 28th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Agilent Technologies from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 2nd. Piper Sandler initiated coverage on Agilent Technologies in a research note on Thursday, June 11th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $150.00 price objective on the stock. Wall Street Zen upgraded Agilent Technologies from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, May 30th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on Agilent Technologies in a research note on Thursday, July 9th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $135.00 target price for the company. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have given a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $159.35.

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.