Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A) Short Interest Update

Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A - Get Free Report) saw a significant drop in short interest during the month of December. As of December 31st, there was short interest totalling 2,910,000 shares, a drop of 7.6% from the December 15th total of 3,150,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 1,690,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 1.7 days. Currently, 1.0% of the shares of the company are short sold.

Agilent Technologies Price Performance

A stock traded up $2.85 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $147.57. 3,210,301 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,210,953. Agilent Technologies has a 52 week low of $124.16 and a 52 week high of $155.35. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $136.48 and a 200 day moving average price of $137.19. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $42.15 billion, a PE ratio of 33.39, a P/E/G ratio of 3.71 and a beta of 1.06.

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

Agilent Technologies Increases Dividend

The company 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 represents a $0.99 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.67%. 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 dividend payout ratio is currently 22.40%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Agilent Technologies

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its stake in Agilent Technologies by 3.5% during the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 15,589,874 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $2,314,784,000 after purchasing an additional 525,214 shares during the period. FMR LLC grew its position in shares of Agilent Technologies by 62.2% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,287,665 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $191,193,000 after buying an additional 493,947 shares during the period. Worldquant Millennium Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Agilent Technologies in the 3rd quarter valued at $49,449,000. Marshall Wace LLP lifted its position in shares of Agilent Technologies by 48.6% during the 2nd quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 957,128 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $124,073,000 after acquiring an additional 313,155 shares during the period. Finally, Jennison Associates LLC boosted its stake in Agilent Technologies by 63.3% during the third quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 586,439 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $87,075,000 after acquiring an additional 227,431 shares in the last quarter.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently commented on A shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on shares of Agilent Technologies from $165.00 to $160.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, November 26th. Barclays lowered their target price on Agilent Technologies from $145.00 to $135.00 and set an "underweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, November 27th. Bank of America reduced their price target on Agilent Technologies from $153.00 to $150.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on Agilent Technologies from $157.00 to $155.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, December 9th. Finally, Evercore ISI boosted their target price on shares of Agilent Technologies from $135.00 to $145.00 and gave the company an "in-line" rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 1st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $143.62.

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.

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