Agilent Technologies Sees Unusually High Options Volume (NYSE:A)

Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A) was the target of some unusual options trading on Monday. Stock traders acquired 3,284 put options on the stock. This is an increase of 158% compared to the average volume of 1,271 put options.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Bank of America reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $134.00 target price (down from $145.00) on shares of Agilent Technologies in a report on Thursday, May 30th. Barclays lowered their target price on Agilent Technologies from $135.00 to $125.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, May 31st. Evercore ISI decreased their price objective on Agilent Technologies from $145.00 to $126.00 and set an “in-line” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, May 30th. Oppenheimer boosted their price objective on Agilent Technologies from $67.00 to $90.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 26th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group restated a “hold” rating and set a $135.00 price objective (down previously from $152.00) on shares of Agilent Technologies in a report on Monday, June 3rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $136.50.

Insider Activity at Agilent Technologies

In related news, SVP Dominique Grau sold 15,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $133.28, for a total value of $1,999,200.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 49,486 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,595,494.08. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In other news, SVP Dominique Grau sold 15,000 shares of Agilent Technologies stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $133.28, for a total transaction of $1,999,200.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 49,486 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,595,494.08. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Padraig Mcdonnell sold 1,958 shares of Agilent Technologies stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $130.00, for a total value of $254,540.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 25,185 shares in the company, valued at $3,274,050. The disclosure for this sale can be found here.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Agilent Technologies

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in Agilent Technologies by 18.2% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 29,884,345 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $4,348,471,000 after purchasing an additional 4,605,228 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its position in shares of Agilent Technologies by 19.6% in the fourth quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 13,246,489 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $1,841,659,000 after acquiring an additional 2,170,219 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its position in shares of Agilent Technologies by 17.4% in the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 10,255,526 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $1,146,773,000 after acquiring an additional 1,519,134 shares in the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its position in shares of Agilent Technologies by 13.9% in the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 8,542,054 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $1,242,956,000 after acquiring an additional 1,042,926 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Agilent Technologies in the fourth quarter valued at about $509,904,000.

Agilent Technologies Price Performance

NYSE A traded up $2.79 during trading on Monday, reaching $136.04. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 633,268 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,694,834. The stock has a market capitalization of $39.69 billion, a PE ratio of 31.50, a P/E/G ratio of 4.50 and a beta of 1.07. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a current ratio of 2.15 and a quick ratio of 1.64. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $139.83 and a 200 day moving average of $138.39. Agilent Technologies has a one year low of $96.80 and a one year high of $155.35.

Agilent Technologies (NYSE:A) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 29th. The medical research company reported $1.22 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.19 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $1.57 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.58 billion. Agilent Technologies had a return on equity of 26.25% and a net margin of 18.84%. The company’s revenue was down 8.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.27 EPS. Analysts expect that Agilent Technologies will post 5.25 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Agilent Technologies Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 24th. Investors of record on Tuesday, July 2nd will be issued a $0.236 dividend. This represents a $0.94 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.69%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, July 2nd. Agilent Technologies’s payout ratio is currently 22.22%.

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.