Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A) Short Interest Up 9.8% in December

Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A - Get Free Report) saw a significant growth in short interest in December. As of December 15th, there was short interest totalling 3,150,000 shares, a growth of 9.8% from the November 30th total of 2,870,000 shares. Currently, 1.1% of the shares of the company are short sold. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 1,750,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 1.8 days.

Agilent Technologies Stock Performance

A traded down $0.08 on Tuesday, reaching $134.34. The company had a trading volume of 719,606 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,713,347. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $135.30 and a 200-day moving average price of $136.65. The company has a quick ratio of 1.58, a current ratio of 2.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57. Agilent Technologies has a 1 year low of $124.16 and a 1 year high of $155.35. The stock has a market capitalization of $38.37 billion, a PE ratio of 30.39, a P/E/G ratio of 4.48 and a beta of 1.07.

Agilent Technologies (NYSE:A - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Monday, November 25th. The medical research company reported $1.46 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.41 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $1.70 billion for 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 company's revenue was up .8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.38 EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that Agilent Technologies will post 5.56 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Agilent Technologies Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 22nd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st will be given a dividend of $0.248 per share. This is a positive change from Agilent Technologies's previous quarterly dividend of $0.24. This represents a $0.99 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.74%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 31st. Agilent Technologies's payout ratio is presently 22.40%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have commented on the company. Sanford C. Bernstein dropped their price objective on Agilent Technologies from $140.00 to $135.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, November 26th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target 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. Bank of America lowered their price objective on Agilent Technologies from $153.00 to $150.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Evercore ISI lifted their target price on Agilent Technologies from $135.00 to $145.00 and gave the company an "in-line" rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 1st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on shares of Agilent Technologies from $157.00 to $155.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, December 9th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $143.62.

Institutional Trading of Agilent Technologies

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Livelsberger Financial Advisory purchased a new position in Agilent Technologies during the 3rd quarter valued at about $28,000. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC acquired a new position in shares of Agilent Technologies during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $31,000. Fortitude Family Office LLC grew its holdings in Agilent Technologies by 68.3% during the 3rd quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 234 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $35,000 after buying an additional 95 shares during the last quarter. RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC purchased a new position in Agilent Technologies during the third quarter worth $38,000. Finally, Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC purchased a new position in Agilent Technologies during the second quarter worth $39,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.42% of the company's stock.

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.