Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A) Receives Consensus Recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from Brokerages

Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A - Get Free Report) has received an average recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from the fourteen analysts that are currently covering the company, Marketbeat Ratings reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 1-year price objective among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $144.36.

Several analysts recently commented on A shares. Bank of America upped their target price on Agilent Technologies from $140.00 to $147.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, August 22nd. TD Cowen increased their price objective on shares of Agilent Technologies from $153.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, August 22nd. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Agilent Technologies from $135.00 to $145.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, October 15th. UBS Group increased their price target on Agilent Technologies from $141.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, August 22nd. Finally, Evercore ISI boosted their price objective on Agilent Technologies from $135.00 to $145.00 and gave the company an "in-line" rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 1st.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Agilent Technologies news, SVP Dominique Grau sold 9,990 shares of Agilent Technologies stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $145.00, for a total transaction of $1,448,550.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 40,011 shares of the company's stock, valued at $5,801,595. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, CEO Padraig Mcdonnell sold 1,958 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $145.00, for a total value of $283,910.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 24,118 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,497,110. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Dominique Grau sold 9,990 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $145.00, for a total transaction of $1,448,550.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 40,011 shares of the company's stock, valued at $5,801,595. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 11,995 shares of company stock valued at $1,739,510 in the last three months. 0.33% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Agilent Technologies

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Financial Advocates Investment Management lifted its position in shares of Agilent Technologies by 14.9% during the third quarter. Financial Advocates Investment Management now owns 3,087 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $458,000 after acquiring an additional 401 shares in the last quarter. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. lifted its holdings in Agilent Technologies by 5.0% during the 3rd quarter. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. now owns 7,661 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $1,138,000 after purchasing an additional 366 shares in the last quarter. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC lifted its holdings in Agilent Technologies by 57.4% during the 3rd quarter. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC now owns 2,845 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $422,000 after purchasing an additional 1,037 shares in the last quarter. Integrated Advisors Network LLC grew its holdings in Agilent Technologies by 2.5% during the 3rd quarter. Integrated Advisors Network LLC now owns 3,582 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $532,000 after buying an additional 86 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Fortitude Family Office LLC increased its position in shares of Agilent Technologies by 68.3% during the third 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 period. 87.42% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Agilent Technologies Trading Down 0.4 %

Shares of A stock traded down $0.50 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $130.19. 1,248,591 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,685,121. The stock has a market cap of $37.98 billion, a PE ratio of 30.78, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.96 and a beta of 1.05. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $140.53 and its 200 day simple moving average is $138.43. The company has a quick ratio of 1.37, a current ratio of 1.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36. Agilent Technologies has a 12 month low of $96.80 and a 12 month high of $155.35.

Agilent Technologies (NYSE:A - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, August 21st. The medical research company reported $1.32 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.26 by $0.06. Agilent Technologies had a return on equity of 25.26% and a net margin of 21.75%. The business had revenue of $1.58 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.56 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.43 EPS. Agilent Technologies's revenue for the quarter was down 5.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Agilent Technologies will post 5.24 EPS for the current year.

Agilent Technologies Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, October 23rd. Investors of record on Tuesday, October 1st were given a dividend of $0.236 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, October 1st. This represents a $0.94 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.73%. Agilent Technologies's payout ratio is 22.22%.

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.