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

Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A) has been given an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by the fourteen analysts that are presently covering the stock, MarketBeat reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, five have given a hold recommendation and eight have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year price objective among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $144.36.

A number of brokerages have weighed in on A. Wells Fargo & Company began coverage on Agilent Technologies in a research note on Tuesday, August 27th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $157.00 target price on the stock. Citigroup increased their price objective on Agilent Technologies from $150.00 to $165.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 22nd. Barclays increased their price objective on Agilent Technologies from $135.00 to $145.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 15th. UBS Group increased their price objective on Agilent Technologies from $141.00 to $150.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 22nd. Finally, Evercore ISI increased their price objective on Agilent Technologies from $135.00 to $145.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 1st.

Agilent Technologies Price Performance

Shares of NYSE A opened at $125.70 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $36.12 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.08, a P/E/G ratio of 5.59 and a beta of 1.07. The company has a quick ratio of 1.37, a current ratio of 1.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $138.26 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $137.83. Agilent Technologies has a twelve month low of $112.39 and a twelve month high of $155.35.

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

Agilent Technologies Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, October 23rd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, October 1st were issued a $0.236 dividend. This represents a $0.94 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.75%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, October 1st. Agilent Technologies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 19.50%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Padraig Mcdonnell sold 1,958 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $145.00, for a total value of $283,910.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 24,118 shares in the company, valued at $3,497,110. This trade represents a 7.51 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Dominique Grau sold 9,990 shares of the firm’s 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 transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 40,011 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,801,595. This trade represents a 19.98 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 11,995 shares of company stock worth $1,739,510.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Livelsberger Financial Advisory bought a new stake in shares of Agilent Technologies in the third quarter worth $28,000. Crewe Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Agilent Technologies by 114.8% in the second quarter. Crewe Advisors LLC now owns 189 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 101 shares during the period. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC bought a new stake in shares of Agilent Technologies in the third quarter worth $31,000. Ridgewood Investments LLC bought a new stake in shares of Agilent Technologies in the second quarter worth $29,000. Finally, Fortitude Family Office LLC grew its holdings in shares of Agilent Technologies by 68.3% in 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.

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.