Agilent Technologies (NYSE:A) Raised to Buy at Citigroup

Citigroup upgraded shares of Agilent Technologies (NYSE:A) from a neutral rating to a buy rating in a report released on Wednesday, Marketbeat Ratings reports. The brokerage currently has $150.00 price objective on the medical research company’s stock, up from their previous price objective of $135.00.

Several other research analysts also recently issued reports on A. TD Cowen lowered their price objective on Agilent Technologies from $163.00 to $153.00 and set a buy rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 30th. Robert W. Baird lowered their price objective on Agilent Technologies from $147.00 to $136.00 and set an outperform rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on Agilent Technologies from $165.00 to $155.00 and set an overweight rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 30th. Evercore ISI upped their price objective on Agilent Technologies from $126.00 to $130.00 and gave the company an in-line rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 2nd. Finally, Wolfe Research downgraded Agilent Technologies from an outperform rating to a peer perform rating in a research note on Thursday, June 27th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $138.06.

Agilent Technologies Stock Up 1.1 %

A stock opened at $132.24 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $38.58 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.26, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.31 and a beta of 1.05. The company has a current ratio of 2.15, a quick ratio of 1.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34. Agilent Technologies has a 12 month low of $96.80 and a 12 month high of $155.35. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $137.49 and a 200-day moving average price of $137.73.

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

Agilent Technologies Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 24th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, July 2nd will be given a dividend of $0.236 per share. This represents a $0.94 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.71%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, July 2nd. Agilent Technologies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 22.22%.

Insider Transactions at Agilent Technologies

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Agilent Technologies

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. MJP Associates Inc. ADV lifted its stake in Agilent Technologies by 20.8% during the 2nd quarter. MJP Associates Inc. ADV now owns 2,929 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $380,000 after acquiring an additional 504 shares in the last quarter. Sitrin Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Agilent Technologies by 0.3% during the 2nd quarter. Sitrin Capital Management LLC now owns 35,272 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $4,572,000 after acquiring an additional 114 shares in the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC lifted its stake in Agilent Technologies by 5.8% during the 2nd quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 43,579 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $5,649,000 after acquiring an additional 2,387 shares in the last quarter. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in Agilent Technologies during the 2nd quarter valued at $43,000. Finally, Cardinal Capital Management raised its stake in shares of Agilent Technologies by 0.4% during the 2nd quarter. Cardinal Capital Management now owns 65,886 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $8,541,000 after purchasing an additional 256 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.