Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A) Receives Average Recommendation of “Hold” from Analysts

Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A) has been given an average recommendation of “Hold” by the fourteen ratings firms that are presently covering the stock, MarketBeat Ratings reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. The average 12-month target price among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $143.62.

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Citigroup raised their price target on shares of Agilent Technologies to $165.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. StockNews.com raised Agilent Technologies from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 24th. Bank of America reduced their price objective 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. Evercore ISI lifted their target price on shares of Agilent Technologies from $135.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 1st. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein reduced their target price on shares of Agilent Technologies from $140.00 to $135.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, November 26th.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in A. Livelsberger Financial Advisory purchased a new stake in Agilent Technologies in the 3rd quarter valued at about $28,000. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Agilent Technologies during the third quarter valued at about $31,000. Fortitude Family Office LLC raised its stake in shares of Agilent Technologies by 68.3% in the 3rd quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 234 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $35,000 after acquiring an additional 95 shares during the period. RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC acquired a new position in shares of Agilent Technologies in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $38,000. Finally, Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC purchased a new position in shares of Agilent Technologies during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $39,000. 87.42% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Agilent Technologies Trading Down 0.9 %

Shares of A stock opened at $142.19 on Thursday. Agilent Technologies has a 1-year low of $124.16 and a 1-year high of $155.35. The company has a market cap of $40.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.17, a PEG ratio of 4.48 and a beta of 1.06. 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 50 day simple moving average of $136.07 and a 200-day simple moving average of $136.96.

Agilent Technologies (NYSE:A) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, November 25th. The medical research company reported $1.46 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.41 by $0.05. Agilent Technologies had a net margin of 19.80% and a return on equity of 25.43%. The company had revenue of $1.70 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.67 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.38 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up .8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research 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 paid a dividend of $0.248 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, December 31st. This is an increase from Agilent Technologies’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.24. This represents a $0.99 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.70%. Agilent Technologies’s payout ratio is 22.40%.

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.