Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A) Announces Quarterly Dividend of $0.25

Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A) announced a quarterly dividend on Wednesday, February 19th,RTT News reports. Investors of record on Tuesday, April 1st will be paid a dividend of 0.248 per share by the medical research company on Wednesday, April 23rd. This represents a $0.99 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.72%.

Agilent Technologies has increased its dividend payment by an average of 6.5% annually over the last three years. Agilent Technologies has a payout ratio of 16.2% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Analysts expect Agilent Technologies to earn $6.13 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $0.99 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 16.2%.

Agilent Technologies Stock Performance

NYSE:A traded up $2.01 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $137.21. The stock had a trading volume of 1,737,998 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,679,436. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57, a quick ratio of 1.58 and a current ratio of 2.09. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $141.21 and a 200 day simple moving average of $139.31. Agilent Technologies has a 12-month low of $124.16 and a 12-month high of $155.35. The stock has a market cap of $39.15 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.04, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.65 and a beta of 1.07.

Agilent Technologies (NYSE:A) last released its earnings results on Monday, November 25th. The medical research company reported $1.46 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.41 by $0.05. Agilent Technologies had a return on equity of 25.43% and a net margin of 19.80%. The business had revenue of $1.70 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.67 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.38 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up .8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts forecast that Agilent Technologies will post 5.56 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Agilent Technologies news, CEO Padraig Mcdonnell sold 1,911 shares of Agilent Technologies 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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 39,652 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,947,800. The trade was a 4.60 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on A shares. StockNews.com upgraded Agilent Technologies from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 24th. Barclays upgraded Agilent Technologies from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $135.00 to $145.00 in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Citigroup lifted their price target on Agilent Technologies to $165.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on Agilent Technologies from $157.00 to $155.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, December 9th. Finally, Bank of America reduced their price target on Agilent Technologies from $153.00 to $150.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $144.38.

Agilent Technologies Company Profile

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.