Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A) Receives $140.92 Average PT from Analysts

Shares of Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A - Get Free Report) have received a consensus recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from the thirteen analysts that are covering the company, MarketBeat.com reports. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and seven have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month price objective among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $140.92.

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on the company. Robert W. Baird cut their price objective on Agilent Technologies from $159.00 to $140.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, May 22nd. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their target price on Agilent Technologies from $135.00 to $116.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 21st. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on Agilent Technologies from $155.00 to $135.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Agilent Technologies from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Saturday, June 28th. Finally, TD Cowen upped their price objective on shares of Agilent Technologies to $150.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 29th.

Agilent Technologies Stock Performance

Shares of A traded up $0.50 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $121.16. 944,958 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,842,281. The business's 50 day moving average price is $113.21 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $123.49. The firm has a market capitalization of $34.42 billion, a PE ratio of 29.91, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.65 and a beta of 1.23. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55, a quick ratio of 1.60 and a current ratio of 2.09. Agilent Technologies has a 1-year low of $96.43 and a 1-year high of $153.84.

Agilent Technologies (NYSE:A - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, May 28th. The medical research company reported $1.31 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.26 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $1.67 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.63 billion. Agilent Technologies had a return on equity of 25.92% and a net margin of 17.59%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 6.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.22 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that Agilent Technologies will post 5.58 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Agilent Technologies Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 23rd. Investors of record on Tuesday, July 1st will be issued a $0.248 dividend. This represents a $0.99 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.82%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, July 1st. Agilent Technologies's dividend payout ratio is presently 24.44%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Agilent Technologies news, CEO Padraig Mcdonnell sold 1,508 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $117.44, for a total value of $177,099.52. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 37,448 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,397,893.12. The trade was a 3.87% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.26% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in A. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Agilent Technologies during the 4th quarter worth $456,963,000. Generation Investment Management LLP increased its stake in shares of Agilent Technologies by 19.8% in the first quarter. Generation Investment Management LLP now owns 4,983,556 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $582,976,000 after purchasing an additional 824,243 shares during the period. Madison Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Agilent Technologies during the 4th quarter worth about $94,051,000. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its position in shares of Agilent Technologies by 15,648.1% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 627,247 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $73,375,000 after purchasing an additional 623,264 shares during the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC boosted its stake in Agilent Technologies by 18.7% during the 1st quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 3,836,105 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $448,748,000 after purchasing an additional 604,124 shares during the period. 87.42% of the stock is 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.