Agilent Technologies (NYSE:A) Reaches New 12-Month Low - Should You Sell?

Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A - Get Free Report)'s stock price reached a new 52-week low during trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as low as $97.37 and last traded at $98.97, with a volume of 4525087 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $103.59.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms recently weighed in on A. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Agilent Technologies from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, December 24th. Citigroup raised their target price on Agilent Technologies to $165.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, December 19th. TD Cowen upped their price target on Agilent Technologies to $135.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday. Barclays cut their price objective on shares of Agilent Technologies from $138.00 to $115.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday. Finally, Robert W. Baird cut their price target on shares of Agilent Technologies from $161.00 to $159.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 27th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $146.25.

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Agilent Technologies Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56, a current ratio of 2.20 and a quick ratio of 1.66. The firm has a market capitalization of $30.20 billion, a PE ratio of 24.35, a P/E/G ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 1.19. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $123.76 and its 200 day simple moving average is $133.84.

Agilent Technologies (NYSE:A - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 26th. The medical research company reported $1.31 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.27 by $0.04. Agilent Technologies had a net margin of 19.27% and a return on equity of 25.56%. The company had revenue of $1.68 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.67 billion. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Agilent Technologies, Inc. will post 5.55 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Agilent Technologies Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 23rd. Investors of record on Tuesday, April 1st will be paid a dividend of $0.248 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 1st. This represents a $0.99 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.94%. Agilent Technologies's payout ratio is 22.76%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Agilent Technologies news, Director Daniel K. Podolsky sold 1,819 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, March 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $116.46, for a total value of $211,840.74. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 35,737 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,161,931.02. This trade represents a 4.84 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, VP Rodney Gonsalves sold 1,908 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, March 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $121.98, for a total transaction of $232,737.84. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 21,786 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,657,456.28. This trade represents a 8.05 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 5,638 shares of company stock worth $731,229 in the last quarter. 0.26% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. CKW Financial Group grew its position in Agilent Technologies by 114.9% during the fourth quarter. CKW Financial Group now owns 187 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. Global X Japan Co. Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of Agilent Technologies by 161.1% during the fourth quarter. Global X Japan Co. Ltd. now owns 188 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 116 shares in the last quarter. Redwood Park Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Agilent Technologies in the 4th quarter worth about $27,000. Lee Danner & Bass Inc. bought a new position in shares of Agilent Technologies in the 4th quarter worth approximately $29,000. Finally, Sunbelt Securities Inc. lifted its position in Agilent Technologies by 640.0% during the fourth quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. now owns 222 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 192 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.