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

Shares of Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A) have received a consensus rating of “Hold” from the fourteen research firms that are presently covering the firm, MarketBeat reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month price target among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $143.62.

A has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Barclays cut their target price on shares of 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 cut their price objective on Agilent Technologies from $140.00 to $135.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, November 26th. Bank of America lowered their target price on Agilent Technologies from $153.00 to $150.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday, December 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target 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, Stifel Nicolaus reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $151.00 price objective on shares of Agilent Technologies in a research note on Monday, August 26th.

Insider Transactions at Agilent Technologies

In other Agilent Technologies news, SVP Dominique Grau sold 9,990 shares of Agilent Technologies stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $145.00, for a total value of $1,448,550.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 40,011 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,801,595. The trade was a 19.98 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.33% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Agilent Technologies

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Livelsberger Financial Advisory acquired a new position in shares of Agilent Technologies during the third quarter worth approximately $28,000. Crewe Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Agilent Technologies by 114.8% during the second quarter. Crewe Advisors LLC now owns 189 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 101 shares during the last quarter. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC bought a new position in shares of Agilent Technologies in the third quarter valued at $31,000. Ridgewood Investments LLC acquired a new position in shares of Agilent Technologies during the second quarter valued at about $29,000. Finally, Fortitude Family Office LLC increased its position 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 acquiring an additional 95 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.42% of the company’s stock.

Agilent Technologies Stock Performance

Shares of Agilent Technologies stock opened at $134.51 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 2.09, a quick ratio of 1.58 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57. The company has a market cap of $38.65 billion, a PE ratio of 30.43, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.48 and a beta of 1.07. The company has a 50 day moving average of $135.85 and a 200-day moving average of $136.48. Agilent Technologies has a 1-year low of $124.16 and a 1-year high of $155.35.

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

Agilent Technologies Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 22nd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st will be given a $0.248 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 31st. This represents a $0.99 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.74%. This is an increase from Agilent Technologies’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.24. Agilent Technologies’s payout ratio is 22.40%.

About Agilent Technologies

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.