Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A) Given Consensus Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by Brokerages

Shares of Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A) have earned an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the fourteen research firms that are covering the stock, Marketbeat reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 1 year price objective among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $144.36.

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on the company. Citigroup upped their target price on Agilent Technologies from $150.00 to $165.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 22nd. Stifel Nicolaus reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $151.00 price objective on shares of Agilent Technologies in a research note on Monday, August 26th. TD Cowen lifted their target price on shares of Agilent Technologies from $153.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 22nd. Evercore ISI upped their price target on shares of Agilent Technologies from $135.00 to $145.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 1st. Finally, Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Agilent Technologies from $135.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 15th.

Insider Activity 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 shares were 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 $5,801,595. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other Agilent Technologies news, SVP Dominique Grau sold 9,990 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $145.00, for a total transaction of $1,448,550.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 40,011 shares in the company, valued at $5,801,595. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Padraig Mcdonnell sold 1,958 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $145.00, for a total value of $283,910.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 24,118 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,497,110. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 11,995 shares of company stock valued at $1,739,510. 0.33% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Agilent Technologies

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Crewe Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Agilent Technologies by 114.8% during the 2nd quarter. Crewe Advisors LLC now owns 189 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 101 shares during the period. Livelsberger Financial Advisory bought a new stake in shares of Agilent Technologies in the third quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Ridgewood Investments LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Agilent Technologies in the second quarter worth $29,000. Fortitude Family Office LLC increased its position in 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 during the period. Finally, Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC acquired a new position in Agilent Technologies during the 2nd quarter valued at $39,000. Institutional investors own 87.42% of the company’s stock.

Agilent Technologies Stock Performance

Shares of A opened at $130.19 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a current ratio of 1.78 and a quick ratio of 1.37. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $140.72 and its 200-day moving average is $138.53. Agilent Technologies has a 12-month low of $96.80 and a 12-month high of $155.35. The stock has a market capitalization of $37.98 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.78, a P/E/G ratio of 6.96 and a beta of 1.05.

Agilent Technologies (NYSE:A) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 21st. The medical research company reported $1.32 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.26 by $0.06. Agilent Technologies had a net margin of 21.75% and a return on equity of 25.26%. The firm had revenue of $1.58 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.56 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.43 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 5.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts anticipate that Agilent Technologies will post 5.24 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Agilent Technologies Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, October 23rd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, October 1st were paid a dividend of $0.236 per share. This represents a $0.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.73%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, October 1st. Agilent Technologies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 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.