Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A) Receives $144.36 Consensus Target Price from Brokerages

Shares of Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A) have earned a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the fourteen ratings firms that are presently covering the stock, Marketbeat reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, five have given a hold recommendation and eight have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year target price among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $144.36.

A number of equities analysts recently commented on A shares. Evercore ISI lifted their price objective on Agilent Technologies from $135.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 1st. UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of Agilent Technologies from $141.00 to $150.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company started coverage on shares of Agilent Technologies in a research note on Tuesday, August 27th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $157.00 target price for the company. Bank of America upped their price target on shares of Agilent Technologies from $140.00 to $147.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 22nd. Finally, Barclays lifted their price objective on Agilent Technologies from $135.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 15th.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Agilent Technologies news, SVP Dominique Grau sold 9,990 shares of Agilent Technologies stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 40,011 shares in the company, valued at approximately $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 accessible through the SEC website. In other news, CEO Padraig Mcdonnell sold 1,958 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the chief executive officer now owns 24,118 shares in the company, valued at $3,497,110. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, SVP Dominique Grau sold 9,990 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 26th. The shares were 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 directly owns 40,011 shares in the company, valued at $5,801,595. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 11,995 shares of company stock worth $1,739,510.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Agilent Technologies

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of A. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC boosted its position in Agilent Technologies by 2.8% in the first quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 25,107 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $3,653,000 after purchasing an additional 695 shares during the last quarter. Kathmere Capital Management LLC bought a new position in Agilent Technologies during the first quarter valued at about $243,000. Gibson Capital LLC purchased a new stake in Agilent Technologies during the first quarter worth about $188,000. Diversified Trust Co raised its position in Agilent Technologies by 29.9% in the first quarter. Diversified Trust Co now owns 6,581 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $958,000 after acquiring an additional 1,516 shares during the period. Finally, Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. boosted its stake in Agilent Technologies by 25.0% in the first quarter. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. now owns 211,253 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $30,739,000 after acquiring an additional 42,291 shares during the last quarter.

Agilent Technologies Trading Up 5.0 %

A opened at $136.87 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a current ratio of 1.78 and a quick ratio of 1.37. Agilent Technologies has a fifty-two week low of $102.70 and a fifty-two week high of $155.35. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $139.73 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $138.05. The firm has a market capitalization of $39.33 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.40, a PEG ratio of 6.31 and a beta of 1.05.

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

Agilent Technologies Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, October 23rd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, October 1st were paid a dividend of $0.236 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, October 1st. This represents a $0.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.69%. Agilent Technologies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 19.50%.

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.