Analysts Set Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A) Price Target at $146.15

Shares of Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A) have been given an average rating of “Hold” by the thirteen research firms that are covering the stock, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and six have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month price objective among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $150.83.

A number of analysts recently issued reports on the company. Citigroup lifted their price objective on Agilent Technologies to $165.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on Agilent Technologies from $157.00 to $155.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, December 9th. Robert W. Baird cut their price objective on shares of Agilent Technologies from $161.00 to $159.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. Bank of America decreased their target price on shares of Agilent Technologies from $153.00 to $150.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of Agilent Technologies from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 24th.

Agilent Technologies Stock Performance

A stock opened at $119.04 on Tuesday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $134.91 and a 200 day simple moving average of $136.80. Agilent Technologies has a 52 week low of $117.17 and a 52 week high of $155.35. The stock has a market cap of $33.94 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.37, a P/E/G ratio of 3.38 and a beta of 1.11. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56, a quick ratio of 1.66 and a current ratio of 2.20.

Agilent Technologies (NYSE:A) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 26th. The medical research company reported $1.31 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.27 by $0.04. Agilent Technologies had a net margin of 19.27% and a return on equity of 25.56%. The company had revenue of $1.68 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.67 billion. Research analysts anticipate that Agilent Technologies will post 5.57 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Agilent Technologies Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 23rd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, April 1st will be paid a $0.248 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 1st. This represents a $0.99 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.83%. Agilent Technologies’s payout ratio is presently 22.76%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Agilent Technologies news, VP Rodney Gonsalves sold 1,908 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $121.98, for a total value of $232,737.84. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 21,786 shares in the company, valued at $2,657,456.28. This trade represents a 8.05 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Padraig Mcdonnell sold 1,911 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $150.00, for a total transaction of $286,650.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 39,652 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,947,800. The trade was a 4.60 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here.

Institutional Trading of Agilent Technologies

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of A. State Street Corp raised its stake in shares of Agilent Technologies by 1.2% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 12,819,897 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $1,903,498,000 after buying an additional 158,175 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its position in Agilent Technologies by 0.6% in the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 9,306,805 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $1,250,276,000 after purchasing an additional 59,781 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Agilent Technologies by 0.8% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 7,002,671 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $938,291,000 after purchasing an additional 53,992 shares in the last quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA boosted its holdings in Agilent Technologies by 0.9% during the fourth quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA now owns 5,213,739 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $700,414,000 after purchasing an additional 47,495 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Deutsche Bank AG grew its stake in shares of Agilent Technologies by 0.9% in the 4th quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 4,436,700 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $596,026,000 after purchasing an additional 38,348 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.