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

Shares of Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A) have been given an average rating of “Moderate Buy” by the fourteen ratings firms that are presently covering the stock, MarketBeat.com reports. One investment 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 brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $143.64.

Several equities analysts have issued reports on A shares. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of Agilent Technologies from $125.00 to $135.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Friday, August 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company began coverage on shares of Agilent Technologies in a report on Tuesday, August 27th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $157.00 target price on the stock. TD Cowen increased their price objective on shares of Agilent Technologies from $153.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 22nd. Wolfe Research downgraded shares of Agilent Technologies from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, June 27th. Finally, UBS Group increased their target price on shares of Agilent Technologies from $141.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 22nd.

Agilent Technologies Stock Performance

NYSE:A opened at $143.89 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.78, a quick ratio of 1.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $140.12 and its 200-day moving average price is $138.97. Agilent Technologies has a twelve month low of $96.80 and a twelve month high of $155.35. The company has a market cap of $41.98 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.02, a P/E/G ratio of 6.48 and a beta of 1.05.

Agilent Technologies (NYSE:A) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 21st. The medical research company reported $1.32 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.56 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.43 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 5.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Agilent Technologies will post 5.24 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Agilent Technologies Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 23rd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, October 1st will be issued a dividend of $0.236 per share. This represents a $0.94 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.66%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, October 1st. Agilent Technologies’s payout ratio is presently 22.22%.

Insider Transactions at Agilent Technologies

In other news, CEO Padraig Mcdonnell sold 1,958 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, July 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $140.00, for a total transaction of $274,120.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 26,076 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,650,640. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In other Agilent Technologies news, SVP Dominique Grau sold 9,990 shares of the business’s 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 transaction, the senior vice president now owns 40,011 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,801,595. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Padraig Mcdonnell sold 1,958 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $140.00, for a total value of $274,120.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 26,076 shares in the company, valued at $3,650,640. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 13,953 shares of company stock worth $2,013,630. Insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in A. Livelsberger Financial Advisory acquired a new position in Agilent Technologies in the 4th quarter worth about $26,000. Crewe Advisors LLC raised its stake 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 purchasing an additional 101 shares during the last quarter. Ridgewood Investments LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Agilent Technologies in the second quarter worth approximately $29,000. Rise Advisors LLC increased its position 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 valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 190 shares during the last quarter. Finally, YHB Investment Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Agilent Technologies during the first quarter valued at approximately $34,000. 87.42% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.