Agilent Technologies (NYSE:A) Upgraded to Buy at StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Agilent Technologies (NYSE:A) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research note released on Tuesday.

Other research analysts also recently issued research reports about the company. Stifel Nicolaus reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $151.00 target price on shares of Agilent Technologies in a report on Monday, August 26th. Citigroup raised their price objective on Agilent Technologies to $165.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on shares of Agilent Technologies from $157.00 to $155.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, December 9th. Sanford C. Bernstein lowered their price target on shares of Agilent Technologies from $140.00 to $135.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, November 26th. Finally, Barclays cut their price objective on shares of Agilent Technologies from $145.00 to $135.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, November 27th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Agilent Technologies currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $143.62.

Agilent Technologies Stock Up 1.1 %

Shares of Agilent Technologies stock opened at $136.10 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57, a quick ratio of 1.58 and a current ratio of 2.09. Agilent Technologies has a 52-week low of $124.16 and a 52-week high of $155.35. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $135.66 and its 200-day moving average price is $136.51. The stock has a market capitalization of $39.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.79, a P/E/G ratio of 4.48 and a beta of 1.07.

Agilent Technologies (NYSE:A) last posted its earnings results on Monday, November 25th. The medical research company reported $1.46 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 company had revenue of $1.70 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.67 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.38 earnings per share. Agilent Technologies’s revenue for the quarter was up .8% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts forecast that Agilent Technologies will post 5.56 EPS for the current year.

Agilent Technologies Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 22nd. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 31st will be given a $0.248 dividend. This is a positive change from Agilent Technologies’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.24. This represents a $0.99 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.73%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 31st. Agilent Technologies’s dividend payout ratio is 22.40%.

Insider Activity

In related news, SVP Dominique Grau sold 9,990 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $145.00, for a total value of $1,448,550.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now 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 SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Agilent Technologies

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of A. Crewe Advisors LLC increased its position in Agilent Technologies by 114.8% during the 2nd quarter. Crewe Advisors LLC now owns 189 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 101 shares during the period. Livelsberger Financial Advisory purchased a new position in Agilent Technologies during the third quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Ridgewood Investments LLC bought a new position in Agilent Technologies in the second quarter worth approximately $29,000. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC purchased a new stake in Agilent Technologies during the third quarter worth $31,000. Finally, Fortitude Family Office LLC boosted its position in Agilent Technologies by 68.3% during the 3rd quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 234 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $35,000 after acquiring an additional 95 shares in the last quarter. 87.42% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.