Agilent Technologies (NYSE:A) Cut to “Peer Perform” at Wolfe Research

Wolfe Research downgraded shares of Agilent Technologies (NYSE:A) from an outperform rating to a peer perform rating in a report released on Thursday morning, Marketbeat.com reports.

Several other research firms have also recently issued reports on A. Evercore ISI cut their price objective on Agilent Technologies from $145.00 to $126.00 and set an in-line rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, May 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on shares of Agilent Technologies from $165.00 to $155.00 and set an overweight rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 30th. Oppenheimer upped their target price on shares of Agilent Technologies from $67.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 26th. Bank of America increased their target price on shares of Agilent Technologies from $134.00 to $140.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a report on Tuesday, June 25th. Finally, UBS Group decreased their price target on Agilent Technologies from $155.00 to $141.00 and set a neutral rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, May 30th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Agilent Technologies currently has a consensus rating of Hold and an average target price of $136.88.

Agilent Technologies Stock Performance

NYSE A opened at $129.63 on Thursday. The company has a fifty day moving average of $139.56 and a two-hundred day moving average of $138.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a current ratio of 2.15 and a quick ratio of 1.64. Agilent Technologies has a 1 year low of $96.80 and a 1 year high of $155.35. The company has a market capitalization of $37.82 billion, a PE ratio of 30.65, a P/E/G ratio of 4.40 and a beta of 1.07.

Agilent Technologies (NYSE:A) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 29th. The medical research company reported $1.22 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.19 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $1.57 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.58 billion. Agilent Technologies had a return on equity of 26.25% and a net margin of 18.84%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 8.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.27 earnings per share. As a group, analysts expect that Agilent Technologies will post 5.25 earnings per share for the current year.

Agilent Technologies Announces Dividend

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

Insider Transactions at Agilent Technologies

In other Agilent Technologies news, SVP Dominique Grau sold 15,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $133.28, for a total value of $1,999,200.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 49,486 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,595,494.08. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other news, CEO Padraig Mcdonnell sold 1,958 shares of Agilent Technologies stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 3rd. The stock was 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $3,274,050. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Dominique Grau sold 15,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $133.28, for a total value of $1,999,200.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 49,486 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,595,494.08. The disclosure for this sale can be found here.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Livelsberger Financial Advisory bought a new position in Agilent Technologies during the fourth quarter worth $26,000. MV Capital Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Agilent Technologies by 120.7% in the 4th quarter. MV Capital Management Inc. now owns 192 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 105 shares during the period. VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Agilent Technologies during the 4th quarter valued at about $29,000. Rise Advisors LLC raised its stake in 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. Finally, YHB Investment Advisors Inc. bought a new position in Agilent Technologies in the first quarter worth about $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.