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

Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A) has earned an average rating of “Hold” from the fourteen research firms that are currently covering the stock, Marketbeat Ratings reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. The average 12-month price objective among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $143.62.

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Bank of America dropped their price objective on Agilent Technologies from $153.00 to $150.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Citigroup boosted their target price on Agilent Technologies to $165.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. Barclays decreased their target price on Agilent Technologies from $145.00 to $135.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, November 27th. Sanford C. Bernstein decreased their target price on Agilent Technologies from $140.00 to $135.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, November 26th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Agilent Technologies from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 24th.

Agilent Technologies Stock Performance

NYSE A opened at $151.75 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $43.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.33, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.98 and a beta of 1.06. The company has a quick ratio of 1.58, a current ratio of 2.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $140.52 and a 200-day moving average price of $138.81. Agilent Technologies has a twelve month low of $124.16 and a twelve month high of $155.35.

Agilent Technologies (NYSE:A) last released 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. The firm had revenue of $1.70 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.67 billion. Agilent Technologies had a return on equity of 25.43% and a net margin of 19.80%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up .8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.38 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Agilent Technologies will post 5.56 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Agilent Technologies Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 22nd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st were issued a $0.248 dividend. This represents a $0.99 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.65%. This is an increase from Agilent Technologies’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.24. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, December 31st. Agilent Technologies’s dividend payout ratio is presently 22.40%.

Insider Transactions at Agilent Technologies

In other news, CEO Padraig Mcdonnell sold 1,911 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $150.00, for a total value of $286,650.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 39,652 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,947,800. This represents a 4.60 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Livelsberger Financial Advisory bought a new position in Agilent Technologies in the third quarter worth approximately $28,000. CKW Financial Group grew its stake in Agilent Technologies by 114.9% in the fourth quarter. CKW Financial Group now owns 187 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. Global X Japan Co. Ltd. grew its stake in Agilent Technologies by 161.1% in the fourth quarter. Global X Japan Co. Ltd. now owns 188 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 116 shares in the last quarter. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC bought a new stake in Agilent Technologies during the 3rd quarter valued at $31,000. Finally, Fortitude Family Office LLC boosted its position in Agilent Technologies by 68.3% during the 3rd quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 234 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $35,000 after acquiring an additional 95 shares in the last quarter.

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.