Analysts Set Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A) Target Price at $143.62

Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A - Get Free Report) has received an average recommendation of "Hold" from the fourteen research firms that are presently covering the stock, Marketbeat reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. The average 12 month price target among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $143.62.

A has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. StockNews.com raised shares of Agilent Technologies from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, December 24th. Citigroup boosted their price target on Agilent Technologies to $165.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. Evercore ISI raised their price objective on Agilent Technologies from $135.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock an "in-line" rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 1st. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on shares of 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, Barclays dropped their price objective on shares of Agilent Technologies from $145.00 to $135.00 and set an "underweight" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, November 27th.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Agilent Technologies

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. First Hawaiian Bank boosted its position in shares of Agilent Technologies by 12.3% during the 4th quarter. First Hawaiian Bank now owns 14,004 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $1,881,000 after purchasing an additional 1,531 shares in the last quarter. CWA Asset Management Group LLC increased its position in Agilent Technologies by 20.7% during the fourth quarter. CWA Asset Management Group LLC now owns 1,758 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $236,000 after buying an additional 302 shares in the last quarter. Pensionfund Sabic raised its stake in Agilent Technologies by 90.9% in the 4th quarter. Pensionfund Sabic now owns 10,500 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $1,411,000 after purchasing an additional 5,000 shares during the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB lifted its stake in shares of Agilent Technologies by 2.6% during the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 3,198,715 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $431,603,000 after buying an additional 80,819 shares during the period. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC raised its holdings in Agilent Technologies by 102.5% in the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 3,983 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $535,000 after acquiring an additional 2,016 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.42% of the company's stock.

Agilent Technologies Trading Down 0.3 %

Shares of NYSE:A traded down $0.47 during trading on Thursday, hitting $136.94. The company had a trading volume of 1,684,573 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,139,915. The stock has a market cap of $39.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.98, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.48 and a beta of 1.06. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57, a current ratio of 2.09 and a quick ratio of 1.58. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $135.95 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $136.72. Agilent Technologies has a one year low of $124.16 and a one year high of $155.35.

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

Agilent Technologies Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 22nd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st will be given a dividend of $0.248 per share. This represents a $0.99 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.72%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, December 31st. This is an increase from Agilent Technologies's previous quarterly dividend of $0.24. Agilent Technologies's payout ratio is currently 22.40%.

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.