Barclays Cuts Agilent Technologies (NYSE:A) Price Target to $115.00

Agilent Technologies (NYSE:A) had its price objective reduced by Barclays from $138.00 to $115.00 in a report released on Thursday morning, MarketBeat Ratings reports. They currently have an equal weight rating on the medical research company’s stock.

A number of other equities analysts have also weighed in on A. Citigroup lifted their price target on shares of Agilent Technologies to $165.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, December 19th. Bank of America reduced their target price on Agilent Technologies from $153.00 to $150.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, December 13th. Robert W. Baird lowered their price target on Agilent Technologies from $161.00 to $159.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Agilent Technologies from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 24th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $146.25.

Agilent Technologies Stock Performance

NYSE A opened at $102.66 on Thursday. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $123.76 and its 200 day moving average price is $133.93. The company has a current ratio of 2.20, a quick ratio of 1.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56. Agilent Technologies has a twelve month low of $96.43 and a twelve month high of $155.35. The company has a market capitalization of $29.27 billion, a PE ratio of 23.60, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.81 and a beta of 1.19.

Agilent Technologies (NYSE:A) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 26th. The medical research company reported $1.31 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.27 by $0.04. Agilent Technologies had a net margin of 19.27% and a return on equity of 25.56%. The business had revenue of $1.68 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.67 billion. On average, research analysts predict that Agilent Technologies will post 5.57 earnings per share for the current year.

Agilent Technologies Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 23rd. Investors of record on Tuesday, April 1st will be issued a dividend of $0.248 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 1st. This represents a $0.99 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.97%. Agilent Technologies’s payout ratio is currently 22.76%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, VP Rodney Gonsalves sold 1,908 shares of Agilent Technologies stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $121.98, for a total transaction of $232,737.84. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 21,786 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,657,456.28. The trade was a 8.05 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Daniel K. Podolsky sold 1,819 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $116.46, for a total value of $211,840.74. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 35,737 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,161,931.02. This represents a 4.84 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 5,638 shares of company stock valued at $731,229.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Agilent Technologies

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. CKW Financial Group grew its holdings in Agilent Technologies by 114.9% during the 4th quarter. CKW Financial Group now owns 187 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. Global X Japan Co. Ltd. lifted its position in shares of Agilent Technologies by 161.1% during the fourth quarter. Global X Japan Co. Ltd. now owns 188 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 116 shares during the last quarter. Redwood Park Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Agilent Technologies in the fourth quarter worth about $27,000. Lee Danner & Bass Inc. bought a new stake in Agilent Technologies in the fourth quarter valued at about $29,000. Finally, Whipplewood Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Agilent Technologies by 286.2% in the first quarter. Whipplewood Advisors LLC now owns 251 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 186 shares during the last quarter.

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.