Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A) Receives Average Rating of “Hold” from Analysts

Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A) has been assigned an average recommendation of “Hold” from the fourteen brokerages that are currently covering the stock, Marketbeat.com reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, six have given a hold recommendation and seven have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month price target among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $143.62.

Several research analysts have issued reports on the company. UBS Group upped their price objective on Agilent Technologies from $141.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, August 22nd. TD Cowen upped their price target on Agilent Technologies from $153.00 to $160.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on Agilent Technologies from $157.00 to $155.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, December 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on Agilent Technologies from $165.00 to $160.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, November 26th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein reduced their target price on shares of Agilent Technologies from $140.00 to $135.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, November 26th.

Agilent Technologies Price Performance

Agilent Technologies stock opened at $139.00 on Friday. The business’s fifty day moving average is $136.75 and its two-hundred day moving average is $136.44. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57, a quick ratio of 1.58 and a current ratio of 2.09. The firm has a market cap of $39.94 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.45, a P/E/G ratio of 4.48 and a beta of 1.07. Agilent Technologies has a 52 week low of $124.16 and a 52 week high of $155.35.

Agilent Technologies (NYSE:A) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, November 25th. The medical research company reported $1.46 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.41 by $0.05. Agilent Technologies had a net margin of 19.80% and a return on equity of 25.43%. The firm had revenue of $1.70 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.67 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.38 EPS. The company’s revenue was up .8% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts forecast that Agilent Technologies will post 5.56 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Agilent Technologies Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 22nd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st will be paid a $0.248 dividend. This represents a $0.99 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.71%. This is a boost from Agilent Technologies’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.24. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 31st. Agilent Technologies’s payout ratio is presently 22.40%.

Insider Transactions at Agilent Technologies

In related news, SVP Dominique Grau sold 9,990 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $145.00, for a total value of $1,448,550.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 40,011 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,801,595. This represents a 19.98 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. 0.33% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Agilent Technologies

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Livelsberger Financial Advisory acquired a new stake in shares of Agilent Technologies in the third quarter valued at about $28,000. Crewe Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Agilent Technologies by 114.8% during the 2nd quarter. Crewe Advisors LLC now owns 189 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 101 shares during the last quarter. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC bought a new stake in shares of Agilent Technologies during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $31,000. Ridgewood Investments LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Agilent Technologies in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Finally, Fortitude Family Office LLC grew its stake in shares of Agilent Technologies by 68.3% in the third quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 234 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $35,000 after buying an additional 95 shares in the last quarter. 87.42% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.