Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A) Short Interest Update

Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A) was the recipient of a large drop in short interest during the month of June. As of June 15th, there was short interest totalling 2,870,000 shares, a drop of 35.1% from the May 31st total of 4,420,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 1,790,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 1.6 days. Currently, 1.0% of the shares of the company are short sold.

Agilent Technologies Stock Performance

Shares of A opened at $129.63 on Monday. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $139.56 and its 200 day moving average price is $138.50. Agilent Technologies has a 52 week low of $96.80 and a 52 week high of $155.35. The company has a market capitalization of $37.82 billion, a PE ratio of 30.65, a PEG ratio of 4.40 and a beta of 1.07. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a quick ratio of 1.64 and a current ratio of 2.15.

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 analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.19 by $0.03. Agilent Technologies had a net margin of 18.84% and a return on equity of 26.25%. The firm had revenue of $1.57 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.58 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.27 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was down 8.4% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts expect that Agilent Technologies will post 5.25 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Agilent Technologies Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 24th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, July 2nd will be paid a $0.236 dividend. This represents a $0.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.73%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, July 2nd. Agilent Technologies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 22.22%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A has been the topic of a number of research reports. Citigroup dropped their target price on shares of Agilent Technologies from $145.00 to $135.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, May 30th. Barclays dropped their target price on shares of Agilent Technologies from $135.00 to $125.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, May 31st. Wolfe Research downgraded shares of Agilent Technologies from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a report on Thursday. TD Cowen dropped their target price on shares of Agilent Technologies from $163.00 to $153.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, May 30th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on shares of Agilent Technologies from $165.00 to $155.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, May 30th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $136.88.

Insider Activity at Agilent Technologies

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

Institutional Trading of Agilent Technologies

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Livelsberger Financial Advisory acquired a new stake in shares of Agilent Technologies in the fourth quarter worth $26,000. MV Capital Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Agilent Technologies by 120.7% in the fourth quarter. MV Capital Management Inc. now owns 192 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 105 shares during the last quarter. VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Agilent Technologies in the fourth quarter worth $29,000. Rise Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Agilent Technologies by 527.8% in the first quarter. Rise Advisors LLC now owns 226 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $33,000 after buying an additional 190 shares during the last quarter. Finally, YHB Investment Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Agilent Technologies in the first quarter worth $34,000.

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.