Agilent Technologies (NYSE:A) Downgraded to “Hold” Rating by StockNews.com

StockNews.com cut shares of Agilent Technologies (NYSE:A) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research report report published on Tuesday.

A number of other equities analysts have also recently issued reports on the stock. Citigroup raised their price objective on shares of Agilent Technologies from $150.00 to $165.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 22nd. Barclays lifted their price target 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. TD Cowen lifted their price target on shares of Agilent Technologies from $153.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company assumed coverage on shares of Agilent Technologies in a research report on Tuesday, August 27th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $157.00 price target on the stock. Finally, UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of Agilent Technologies from $141.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 22nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Agilent Technologies currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $144.07.

Agilent Technologies Price Performance

Shares of A stock opened at $134.35 on Tuesday. Agilent Technologies has a 1 year low of $124.10 and a 1 year high of $155.35. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $137.74 and its 200-day moving average is $137.43. The firm has a market capitalization of $38.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.87, a PEG ratio of 5.89 and a beta of 1.07. 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 Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 22nd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st will be paid a dividend of $0.248 per share. The ex-dividend date is 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 0.74%. Agilent Technologies’s payout ratio is currently 19.50%.

Insider Transactions at Agilent Technologies

In related news, SVP Dominique Grau sold 9,990 shares of Agilent Technologies stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $145.00, for a total transaction of $1,448,550.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 40,011 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,801,595. The trade was a 19.98 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website.

Institutional Trading of Agilent Technologies

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Cetera Investment Advisers boosted its holdings in Agilent Technologies by 953.3% in the 1st quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 32,694 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $4,757,000 after purchasing an additional 29,590 shares during the period. iA Global Asset Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Agilent Technologies by 26.2% in the 1st quarter. iA Global Asset Management Inc. now owns 21,770 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $3,168,000 after purchasing an additional 4,523 shares during the period. Marshall Financial Group LLC bought a new stake in Agilent Technologies in the 2nd quarter valued at about $1,058,000. Van ECK Associates Corp boosted its holdings in Agilent Technologies by 6.6% in the 3rd quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 2,976,905 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $442,011,000 after purchasing an additional 183,716 shares during the period. Finally, AXA S.A. boosted its holdings in Agilent Technologies by 32.3% in the 2nd quarter. AXA S.A. now owns 362,945 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $47,049,000 after purchasing an additional 88,667 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.