Agilent Technologies (NYSE:A) Price Target Raised to $130.00

Agilent Technologies (NYSE:A) had its price target boosted by Evercore ISI from $126.00 to $130.00 in a report released on Tuesday, MarketBeat reports. The brokerage currently has an in-line rating on the medical research company’s stock.

A has been the topic of several other research reports. Bank of America raised their price target on shares of Agilent Technologies from $134.00 to $140.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 25th. Barclays decreased their price objective on shares of Agilent Technologies from $135.00 to $125.00 and set an underweight rating for the company in a report on Friday, May 31st. UBS Group decreased their price objective on shares of Agilent Technologies from $155.00 to $141.00 and set a neutral rating for the company in a report on Thursday, May 30th. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their target price on shares of Agilent Technologies from $163.00 to $151.00 and set a buy rating for the company in a report on Thursday, May 30th. Finally, Robert W. Baird reduced their target price on shares of Agilent Technologies from $147.00 to $136.00 and set an outperform rating for the company in a report on Thursday, May 30th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of Hold and an average target price of $137.13.

Agilent Technologies Stock Performance

NYSE:A opened at $126.13 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a current ratio of 2.15 and a quick ratio of 1.64. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $138.94 and a two-hundred day moving average of $138.27. The stock has a market cap of $36.80 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.82, a PEG ratio of 4.27 and a beta of 1.05. Agilent Technologies has a 1-year low of $96.80 and a 1-year high of $155.35.

Agilent Technologies (NYSE:A) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, May 29th. The medical research company reported $1.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.19 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $1.57 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.58 billion. Agilent Technologies had a net margin of 18.84% and a return on equity of 26.25%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 8.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.27 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that Agilent Technologies will post 5.25 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Agilent Technologies Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 24th. Investors of record on Tuesday, July 2nd will be issued a dividend of $0.236 per share. This represents a $0.94 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.75%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, July 2nd. Agilent Technologies’s dividend payout ratio is currently 22.22%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Agilent Technologies news, CEO Padraig Mcdonnell sold 1,958 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $130.00, for a total value of $254,540.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 25,185 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,274,050. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In related news, SVP Dominique Grau sold 15,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $133.28, for a total transaction of $1,999,200.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 49,486 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,595,494.08. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Padraig Mcdonnell sold 1,958 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $130.00, for a total transaction of $254,540.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 25,185 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,274,050. The disclosure for this sale can be found here.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Agilent Technologies

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. LPL Financial LLC grew its holdings in Agilent Technologies by 11.5% during the third quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 57,954 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $6,480,000 after purchasing an additional 5,978 shares during the period. Schonfeld Strategic Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Agilent Technologies in the third quarter valued at approximately $707,000. AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Agilent Technologies by 24.3% in the third quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 309,115 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $34,565,000 after buying an additional 60,344 shares during the period. Advisors Asset Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Agilent Technologies by 7.3% in the third quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 15,358 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $1,717,000 after buying an additional 1,042 shares during the period. Finally, Ameriprise Financial Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Agilent Technologies by 144.4% in the third quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 1,993,407 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $222,907,000 after buying an additional 1,177,883 shares during the period.

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.