Agilent Technologies (NYSE:A) Sets New 52-Week Low - Here's Why

Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A - Get Free Report)'s share price reached a new 52-week low during trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as low as $120.73 and last traded at $120.94, with a volume of 126964 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $121.90.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have commented on the stock. Robert W. Baird dropped their price target on shares of Agilent Technologies from $161.00 to $159.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. StockNews.com raised Agilent Technologies from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, December 24th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target 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. Citigroup raised their target price on Agilent Technologies to $165.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein dropped their price target on shares of Agilent Technologies from $140.00 to $135.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, November 26th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Agilent Technologies presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $146.15.

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Agilent Technologies Trading Down 0.1 %

The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $139.42 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $138.55. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56, a quick ratio of 1.66 and a current ratio of 2.20. The company has a market cap of $34.73 billion, a PE ratio of 28.00, a PEG ratio of 3.56 and a beta of 1.11.

Agilent Technologies (NYSE:A - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 firm had revenue of $1.68 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.67 billion. Sell-side analysts forecast that Agilent Technologies, Inc. will post 5.57 EPS for the current year.

Agilent Technologies Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 23rd. Investors of record on Tuesday, April 1st will be issued a dividend of $0.248 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 1st. This represents a $0.99 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.81%. Agilent Technologies's dividend payout ratio is 22.76%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Agilent Technologies

In other Agilent Technologies news, CEO Padraig Mcdonnell sold 1,911 shares of Agilent Technologies stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $150.00, for a total value of $286,650.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 39,652 shares in the company, valued at $5,947,800. The trade was a 4.60 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Agilent Technologies

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of A. Impax Asset Management Group plc boosted its stake in shares of Agilent Technologies by 8.2% during the 3rd quarter. Impax Asset Management Group plc now owns 2,667,616 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $396,088,000 after acquiring an additional 203,234 shares in the last quarter. CWA Asset Management Group LLC acquired a new stake in Agilent Technologies in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $216,000. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Agilent Technologies during the third quarter worth approximately $260,000. Assetmark Inc. grew its holdings in Agilent Technologies by 60.9% during the third quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 102,561 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $15,228,000 after purchasing an additional 38,808 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Agilent Technologies by 3.5% in the third quarter. Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc. now owns 8,242 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $1,224,000 after buying an additional 277 shares during the last quarter.

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.

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