Agilent Technologies (NYSE:A) Given New $135.00 Price Target at Wells Fargo & Company

Agilent Technologies (NYSE:A) had its price objective reduced by Wells Fargo & Company from $155.00 to $135.00 in a report issued on Thursday morning,Benzinga reports. They currently have an overweight rating on the medical research company’s stock.

A number of other research analysts also recently issued reports on A. TD Cowen boosted their target price on shares of Agilent Technologies to $135.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 10th. Barclays decreased their target price on shares of Agilent Technologies from $138.00 to $115.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 10th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Agilent Technologies from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 24th. Citigroup increased their price target on Agilent Technologies to $165.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. Finally, Robert W. Baird decreased 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 note on Thursday, February 27th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Agilent Technologies presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $144.58.

Agilent Technologies Price Performance

Shares of NYSE A opened at $102.38 on Thursday. Agilent Technologies has a fifty-two week low of $96.43 and a fifty-two week high of $155.35. The company has a market cap of $29.19 billion, a PE ratio of 23.54, a P/E/G ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 1.19. 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 business has a 50-day simple moving average of $120.34 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $132.80.

Agilent Technologies (NYSE:A) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 26th. The medical research company reported $1.31 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 business had revenue of $1.68 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.67 billion. As a group, equities analysts expect that Agilent Technologies will post 5.55 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Agilent Technologies Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 23rd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, April 1st will be paid a $0.248 dividend. This represents a $0.99 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.97%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 1st. Agilent Technologies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 22.76%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Agilent Technologies news, Director Daniel K. Podolsky sold 1,819 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $116.46, for a total value of $211,840.74. Following the sale, the director now 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 transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Padraig Mcdonnell sold 1,911 shares of Agilent Technologies stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $150.00, for a total transaction of $286,650.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 39,652 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,947,800. This represents a 4.60 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 5,638 shares of company stock worth $731,229 over the last ninety days.

Institutional Trading of Agilent Technologies

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Flynn Zito Capital Management LLC grew its position in Agilent Technologies by 3.8% during the fourth quarter. Flynn Zito Capital Management LLC now owns 1,871 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $251,000 after buying an additional 69 shares during the period. IFP Advisors Inc boosted its stake in shares of Agilent Technologies by 17.7% during the 4th quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 458 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $62,000 after acquiring an additional 69 shares in the last quarter. Tiemann Investment Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Agilent Technologies by 5.6% in the 4th quarter. Tiemann Investment Advisors LLC now owns 1,423 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $191,000 after acquiring an additional 75 shares during the period. Rothschild Investment LLC increased its stake in Agilent Technologies by 19.2% in the 4th quarter. Rothschild Investment LLC now owns 491 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $66,000 after purchasing an additional 79 shares in the last quarter. Finally, CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC increased its stake in Agilent Technologies by 1.2% in the 4th quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 7,479 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $1,025,000 after purchasing an additional 87 shares in 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.