Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A) Short Interest Down 5.4% in September

Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A) was the target of a large decrease in short interest during the month of September. As of September 30th, there was short interest totalling 3,130,000 shares, a decrease of 5.4% from the September 15th total of 3,310,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 1,520,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 2.1 days. Currently, 1.1% of the shares of the stock are sold short.

Agilent Technologies Price Performance

NYSE:A opened at $139.10 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a quick ratio of 1.37 and a current ratio of 1.78. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $140.97 and its 200 day simple moving average is $138.86. The company has a market cap of $40.58 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.88, a P/E/G ratio of 6.96 and a beta of 1.05. Agilent Technologies has a 52-week low of $96.80 and a 52-week high of $155.35.

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

Agilent Technologies Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 23rd. Investors of record on Tuesday, October 1st will be issued a dividend of $0.236 per share. This represents a $0.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.68%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, October 1st. Agilent Technologies’s payout ratio is currently 22.22%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have commented on A. 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. TD Cowen raised their price target on Agilent Technologies from $153.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 22nd. Stifel Nicolaus restated a “buy” rating and issued a $151.00 price target on shares of Agilent Technologies in a research report on Monday, August 26th. Citigroup raised their price target on Agilent Technologies from $150.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 22nd. Finally, Wolfe Research lowered Agilent Technologies from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, June 27th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Agilent Technologies has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $144.36.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Padraig Mcdonnell sold 1,958 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $145.00, for a total transaction of $283,910.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 24,118 shares in the company, valued at $3,497,110. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, SVP Dominique Grau sold 9,990 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 40,011 shares in the company, valued at $5,801,595. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Padraig Mcdonnell sold 1,958 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 22nd. The shares were 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. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 13,953 shares of company stock worth $2,013,630 in the last three months. Insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Agilent Technologies

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Crewe Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Agilent Technologies by 114.8% during 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. Ridgewood Investments LLC bought a new stake in shares of Agilent Technologies during the second quarter worth approximately $29,000. Rise Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Agilent Technologies by 527.8% during the first quarter. Rise Advisors LLC now owns 226 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 190 shares during the period. Riverview Trust Co acquired a new stake in shares of Agilent Technologies in the first quarter valued at approximately $41,000. Finally, Larson Financial Group LLC raised its position in shares of Agilent Technologies by 29,300.0% in the first quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 294 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $43,000 after buying an additional 293 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 87.42% of the company’s stock.

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.