Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A) Sees Significant Increase in Short Interest

Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A) was the target of a significant increase in short interest in the month of October. As of October 31st, there was short interest totalling 3,460,000 shares, an increase of 6.8% from the October 15th total of 3,240,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 1,550,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 2.2 days. Approximately 1.2% of the shares of the company are sold short.

Agilent Technologies Stock Up 0.1 %

NYSE:A traded up $0.14 on Tuesday, reaching $127.06. The stock had a trading volume of 175,533 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,698,935. The company has a current ratio of 1.78, a quick ratio of 1.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36. Agilent Technologies has a 12-month low of $112.39 and a 12-month high of $155.35. The company has a 50-day moving average of $138.50 and a 200 day moving average of $137.92. The stock has a market cap of $36.51 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.14, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.59 and a beta of 1.07.

Agilent Technologies (NYSE:A) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, August 21st. The medical research company reported $1.32 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.26 by $0.06. Agilent Technologies had a net margin of 21.75% and a return on equity of 25.26%. The company had revenue of $1.58 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.56 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.43 EPS. The company’s revenue was down 5.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts predict that Agilent Technologies will post 5.24 earnings per share for the current year.

Agilent Technologies Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, October 23rd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, October 1st were issued a dividend of $0.236 per share. This represents a $0.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.74%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, October 1st. Agilent Technologies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 19.50%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently issued reports on A. Bank of America lifted their price objective on Agilent Technologies from $140.00 to $147.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, August 22nd. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of Agilent Technologies from $135.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 15th. Stifel Nicolaus restated a “buy” rating and set a $151.00 target price on shares of Agilent Technologies in a report on Monday, August 26th. TD Cowen upped their price target on shares of Agilent Technologies from $153.00 to $160.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 22nd. Finally, UBS Group raised their price objective on shares of Agilent Technologies from $141.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 22nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $144.36.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Dominique Grau sold 9,990 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $145.00, for a total value of $1,448,550.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 40,011 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,801,595. This trade represents a 19.98 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, 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 value of $283,910.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 24,118 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,497,110. The trade was a 7.51 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 11,995 shares of company stock valued at $1,739,510.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Agilent Technologies

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Cetera Investment Advisers increased its holdings in shares of Agilent Technologies by 953.3% in the first quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 32,694 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $4,757,000 after buying an additional 29,590 shares in the last quarter. iA Global Asset Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Agilent Technologies by 26.2% during the first quarter. iA Global Asset Management Inc. now owns 21,770 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $3,168,000 after buying an additional 4,523 shares in the last quarter. Bayesian Capital Management LP acquired a new position in Agilent Technologies during the first quarter valued at $1,355,000. Marshall Financial Group LLC purchased a new stake in Agilent Technologies in the 2nd quarter worth about $1,058,000. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in Agilent Technologies by 18.2% during 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 acquiring an additional 4,605,228 shares during the period.

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.