Agilent Technologies (NYSE:A) Upgraded at StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Agilent Technologies (NYSE:A) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research report released on Tuesday.

A number of other research analysts also recently issued reports on the stock. Evercore ISI boosted their price target on shares of Agilent Technologies from $135.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 1st. Citigroup boosted their target price on shares of Agilent Technologies to $165.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, December 19th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on Agilent Technologies from $157.00 to $155.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company 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 on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, November 26th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein decreased their target price on Agilent Technologies from $140.00 to $135.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, November 26th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Agilent Technologies has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $143.62.

Agilent Technologies Trading Down 0.2 %

A opened at $135.83 on Tuesday. The company’s 50 day moving average is $135.40 and its 200-day moving average is $136.52. The company has a market cap of $39.03 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.73, a PEG ratio of 4.48 and a beta of 1.07. Agilent Technologies has a 1-year low of $124.16 and a 1-year high of $155.35. The company has a current ratio of 2.09, a quick ratio of 1.58 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57.

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

Agilent Technologies Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 22nd. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 31st will be paid a dividend of $0.248 per share. This is a boost from Agilent Technologies’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.24. This represents a $0.99 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.73%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 31st. Agilent Technologies’s dividend payout ratio is presently 22.40%.

Institutional Trading of Agilent Technologies

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Crewe Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Agilent Technologies by 114.8% in the second 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 period. Livelsberger Financial Advisory bought a new position in Agilent Technologies in the 3rd quarter worth about $28,000. Ridgewood Investments LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Agilent Technologies in the 2nd quarter valued at about $29,000. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC bought a new stake in shares of Agilent Technologies during the 3rd quarter valued at about $31,000. Finally, Fortitude Family Office LLC grew its holdings in shares of Agilent Technologies by 68.3% during the third quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 234 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 95 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.42% of the company’s stock.

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.