Agilent Technologies (NYSE:A) Rating Increased to Equal Weight at Barclays

Barclays upgraded shares of Agilent Technologies (NYSE:A) from an underweight rating to an equal weight rating in a research report report published on Monday, MarketBeat reports. They currently have $145.00 price objective on the medical research company’s stock, up from their previous price objective of $135.00.

Several other research analysts have also issued reports on the stock. Citigroup increased their target price on shares of Agilent Technologies to $165.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. Bank of America cut their price objective on shares of Agilent Technologies from $153.00 to $150.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, December 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on Agilent Technologies from $165.00 to $160.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, November 26th. Sanford C. Bernstein dropped their price target on Agilent Technologies from $140.00 to $135.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, November 26th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on Agilent Technologies from $157.00 to $155.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, December 9th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $144.38.

Agilent Technologies Stock Performance

A stock opened at $143.69 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $40.99 billion, a PE ratio of 32.51, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.00 and a beta of 1.07. The company has a current ratio of 2.09, a quick ratio of 1.58 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $141.59 and a 200-day moving average price of $139.37. Agilent Technologies has a 1-year low of $124.16 and a 1-year high of $155.35.

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

Agilent Technologies Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 22nd. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 31st were issued a dividend of $0.248 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, December 31st. This represents a $0.99 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.69%. This is an increase from Agilent Technologies’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.24. Agilent Technologies’s dividend payout ratio is 22.40%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Agilent Technologies

In other news, CEO Padraig Mcdonnell sold 1,911 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $150.00, for a total value of $286,650.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 39,652 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,947,800. This represents a 4.60 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink.

Institutional Trading of Agilent Technologies

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Generali Asset Management SPA SGR purchased a new position in Agilent Technologies in the fourth quarter valued at about $9,219,000. Horizon Investments LLC raised its holdings in shares of Agilent Technologies by 435.3% in the 4th quarter. Horizon Investments LLC now owns 21,198 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $2,848,000 after purchasing an additional 17,238 shares during the period. Mystic Asset Management Inc. purchased a new position in Agilent Technologies in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $340,000. Terra Alpha Investments LLC bought a new position in Agilent Technologies during the fourth quarter valued at $3,210,000. Finally, Signaturefd LLC increased its position in Agilent Technologies by 3.2% in the fourth quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 7,223 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $970,000 after buying an additional 226 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.