Brokerages Set Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A) Target Price at $146.15

Shares of Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A) have been assigned an average rating of “Hold” from the thirteen research firms that are currently covering the firm, MarketBeat reports. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and six have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month price target among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $150.83.

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on A. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Agilent Technologies from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 24th. Robert W. Baird decreased their price objective on Agilent Technologies from $161.00 to $159.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 27th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on Agilent Technologies from $157.00 to $155.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, December 9th. Citigroup raised their target price on Agilent Technologies to $165.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. Finally, 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.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Agilent Technologies news, CEO Padraig Mcdonnell sold 1,911 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $150.00, for a total transaction of $286,650.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 39,652 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,947,800. The trade was a 4.60 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, VP Rodney Gonsalves sold 1,908 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $121.98, for a total transaction of $232,737.84. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 21,786 shares in the company, valued at $2,657,456.28. This trade represents a 8.05 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Agilent Technologies

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Flynn Zito Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Agilent Technologies by 3.8% in the 4th quarter. Flynn Zito Capital Management LLC now owns 1,871 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $251,000 after acquiring an additional 69 shares during the last quarter. IFP Advisors Inc raised its holdings in shares of Agilent Technologies by 17.7% in the fourth quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 458 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $62,000 after purchasing an additional 69 shares during the last quarter. Tiemann Investment Advisors LLC lifted its position in Agilent Technologies by 5.6% during the 4th quarter. Tiemann Investment Advisors LLC now owns 1,423 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $191,000 after buying an additional 75 shares in the last quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. raised its holdings in Agilent Technologies by 13.5% during the third quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. now owns 646 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $96,000 after acquiring an additional 77 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Rothschild Investment LLC raised its stake in shares of Agilent Technologies by 19.2% during the 4th quarter. Rothschild Investment LLC now owns 491 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $66,000 after purchasing an additional 79 shares in the last quarter.

Agilent Technologies Stock Up 0.3 %

A stock opened at $116.99 on Tuesday. Agilent Technologies has a twelve month low of $113.76 and a twelve month high of $155.35. The company has a quick ratio of 1.66, a current ratio of 2.20 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56. The company has a market cap of $33.35 billion, a PE ratio of 26.89, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.27 and a beta of 1.11. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $133.68 and its 200 day simple moving average is $136.49.

Agilent Technologies (NYSE:A) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 26th. The medical research company reported $1.31 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.27 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $1.68 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.67 billion. Agilent Technologies had a return on equity of 25.56% and a net margin of 19.27%. On average, research analysts anticipate that Agilent Technologies will post 5.57 earnings per share for the current year.

Agilent Technologies Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 23rd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, April 1st will be issued a dividend of $0.248 per share. This represents a $0.99 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.85%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 1st. Agilent Technologies’s dividend payout ratio is currently 22.76%.

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.