Short Interest in Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A) Increases By 13.1%

Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A) saw a large increase in short interest in the month of January. As of January 31st, there was short interest totalling 3,290,000 shares, an increase of 13.1% from the January 15th total of 2,910,000 shares. Currently, 1.2% of the shares of the company are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 1,810,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 1.8 days.

Agilent Technologies Stock Performance

A opened at $147.06 on Wednesday. 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 business has a fifty day simple moving average of $140.80 and a 200 day simple moving average of $138.96. Agilent Technologies has a 1 year low of $124.16 and a 1 year high of $155.35. The company has a market capitalization of $42.00 billion, a PE ratio of 33.27, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.10 and a beta of 1.07.

Agilent Technologies (NYSE:A) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, November 25th. The medical research company reported $1.46 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 firm had revenue of $1.70 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.67 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.38 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up .8% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts expect that Agilent Technologies will post 5.56 EPS for the current year.

Agilent Technologies Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 22nd. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 31st were issued a dividend of $0.248 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, December 31st. This is a positive change from Agilent Technologies’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.24. This represents a $0.99 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.67%. Agilent Technologies’s payout ratio is 22.40%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on A shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on Agilent Technologies from $165.00 to $160.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, November 26th. StockNews.com raised shares of Agilent Technologies from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 24th. Citigroup increased their target price on shares of Agilent Technologies to $165.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, December 19th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on shares of Agilent Technologies from $157.00 to $155.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, December 9th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein dropped their price objective on Agilent Technologies from $140.00 to $135.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, November 26th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Agilent Technologies currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $143.62.

Insider Transactions at Agilent Technologies

In other Agilent Technologies news, 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 sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 39,652 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,947,800. The trade was a 4.60 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link.

Institutional Trading of Agilent Technologies

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Livelsberger Financial Advisory bought a new position in shares of Agilent Technologies during the third quarter valued at $28,000. CKW Financial Group lifted its holdings in Agilent Technologies by 114.9% during the 4th quarter. CKW Financial Group now owns 187 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 100 shares during the period. Global X Japan Co. Ltd. grew its position in shares of Agilent Technologies by 161.1% in the 4th quarter. Global X Japan Co. Ltd. now owns 188 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 116 shares during the last quarter. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Agilent Technologies in the third quarter valued at about $31,000. Finally, Fortitude Family Office LLC raised its position in shares of Agilent Technologies by 68.3% during the third quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 234 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $35,000 after acquiring an additional 95 shares during the last quarter.

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.