Agilent Technologies (NYSE:A) Shares Gap Up - Here's Why

Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A - Get Free Report) gapped up before the market opened on Friday . The stock had previously closed at $130.31, but opened at $139.13. Agilent Technologies shares last traded at $137.55, with a volume of 420,905 shares.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have weighed in on A shares. Wells Fargo & Company started coverage on shares of Agilent Technologies in a research note on Tuesday, August 27th. They issued an "overweight" rating and a $157.00 price target on the stock. Citigroup lifted their price target on Agilent Technologies from $150.00 to $165.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, August 22nd. UBS Group upped their price objective on Agilent Technologies from $141.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, August 22nd. TD Cowen lifted their target price on Agilent Technologies from $153.00 to $160.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, August 22nd. Finally, Evercore ISI boosted their target price 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. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $144.36.

Agilent Technologies Stock Up 5.0 %

The stock has a market cap of $39.33 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.84, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.31 and a beta of 1.05. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $139.81 and a 200-day simple moving average of $138.07. 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 (NYSE:A - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 21st. The medical research company reported $1.32 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 the consensus estimate of $1.56 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.43 EPS. The company's quarterly revenue was down 5.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Agilent Technologies, Inc. will post 5.24 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Agilent Technologies Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, October 23rd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, October 1st were issued a $0.236 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, October 1st. This represents a $0.94 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.69%. Agilent Technologies's dividend payout ratio is currently 19.50%.

Insider Transactions at Agilent Technologies

In other Agilent Technologies news, CEO Padraig Mcdonnell sold 1,958 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $145.00, for a total transaction of $283,910.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 24,118 shares in the company, valued at $3,497,110. 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 at this hyperlink. In other news, CEO Padraig Mcdonnell sold 1,958 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $145.00, for a total transaction of $283,910.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 24,118 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,497,110. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Dominique Grau sold 9,990 shares of the business's 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 approximately $5,801,595. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 11,995 shares of company stock worth $1,739,510 over the last quarter.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Agilent Technologies by 18.2% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 29,884,345 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $4,348,471,000 after purchasing an additional 4,605,228 shares during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its position in Agilent Technologies by 13.9% during the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 8,542,054 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $1,242,956,000 after acquiring an additional 1,042,926 shares during the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its holdings in Agilent Technologies by 5.7% during the 2nd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 15,064,660 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $1,952,832,000 after acquiring an additional 809,149 shares during the period. Champlain Investment Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Agilent Technologies in the 1st quarter worth about $61,218,000. Finally, Marshall Wace LLP raised its position in shares of Agilent Technologies by 48.6% in the 2nd quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 957,128 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $124,073,000 after acquiring an additional 313,155 shares in the last quarter.

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.