Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A) Receives $144.58 Average Target Price from Analysts

Shares of Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A) have received an average rating of “Hold” from the thirteen brokerages that are currently covering the company, MarketBeat reports. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and six have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 12 month price target among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $143.00.

Several equities research analysts recently commented on A shares. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on shares of Agilent Technologies from $155.00 to $135.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. Barclays lowered their price objective on Agilent Technologies from $138.00 to $115.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 10th. StockNews.com raised Agilent Technologies from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 24th. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price target on Agilent Technologies from $135.00 to $116.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Monday. Finally, Robert W. Baird reduced their price objective on shares of Agilent Technologies from $161.00 to $159.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 27th.

Agilent Technologies Stock Performance

Agilent Technologies stock opened at $100.29 on Friday. Agilent Technologies has a 1-year low of $96.43 and a 1-year high of $155.35. The firm has a market cap of $28.59 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.06, a P/E/G ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 1.19. The company has a current ratio of 2.20, a quick ratio of 1.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $118.79 and a 200-day moving average of $132.00.

Agilent Technologies (NYSE:A) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 26th. The medical research company reported $1.31 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 analysts’ expectations of $1.67 billion. Sell-side analysts expect that Agilent Technologies will post 5.54 EPS for the current year.

Agilent Technologies Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 23rd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, April 1st will be paid a $0.248 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 1st. This represents a $0.99 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.99%. Agilent Technologies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 22.76%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, VP Rodney Gonsalves sold 1,908 shares of the 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 completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 21,786 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,657,456.28. This trade represents a 8.05 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Daniel K. Podolsky sold 1,819 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 31st. The stock was 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 in the company, valued at approximately $4,161,931.02. This represents a 4.84 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Agilent Technologies

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Flynn Zito Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Agilent Technologies by 3.8% during the 4th quarter. Flynn Zito Capital Management LLC now owns 1,871 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $251,000 after acquiring an additional 69 shares during the last quarter. IFP Advisors Inc raised its position in shares of Agilent Technologies by 17.7% during the 4th quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 458 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $62,000 after buying an additional 69 shares in the last quarter. Tiemann Investment Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Agilent Technologies by 5.6% in the 4th quarter. Tiemann Investment Advisors LLC now owns 1,423 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $191,000 after acquiring an additional 75 shares during the last quarter. Rothschild Investment LLC increased its stake in Agilent Technologies by 19.2% during the fourth quarter. Rothschild Investment LLC now owns 491 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $66,000 after acquiring an additional 79 shares during the last quarter. Finally, CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC lifted its stake in shares of Agilent Technologies by 1.2% in the 4th quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 7,479 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $1,025,000 after purchasing an additional 87 shares during the last quarter.

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.