Agilent Technologies (NYSE:A) Upgraded at Barclays

Barclays upgraded shares of Agilent Technologies (NYSE:A) from an underweight rating to an equal weight rating in a report published on Monday morning, Marketbeat.com reports. The firm currently has $145.00 price target on the medical research company’s stock, up from their previous price target of $135.00.

Several other analysts have also issued reports on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on shares of Agilent Technologies from $165.00 to $160.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, November 26th. Bank of America dropped their price objective on shares of Agilent Technologies from $153.00 to $150.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Citigroup increased their price objective on shares of Agilent Technologies to $165.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. StockNews.com raised shares of Agilent Technologies from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 24th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein dropped their price objective on shares of Agilent Technologies from $140.00 to $135.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, November 26th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $144.38.

Agilent Technologies Stock Performance

Shares of A opened at $138.07 on Monday. Agilent Technologies has a 12 month low of $124.16 and a 12 month high of $155.35. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $141.72 and a 200 day simple moving average of $139.46. The stock has a market capitalization of $39.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.24, a PEG ratio of 4.00 and a beta of 1.07. The company has a current ratio of 2.09, a quick ratio of 1.58 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57.

Agilent Technologies (NYSE:A) last announced its earnings results on Monday, November 25th. The medical research company reported $1.46 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.41 by $0.05. Agilent Technologies had a net margin of 19.80% and a return on equity of 25.43%. The business had revenue of $1.70 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.67 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.38 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up .8% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts forecast that Agilent Technologies will post 5.56 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Agilent Technologies Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 22nd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st were paid a $0.248 dividend. This is an increase from Agilent Technologies’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.24. This represents a $0.99 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.72%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, December 31st. Agilent Technologies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 22.40%.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Padraig Mcdonnell sold 1,911 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $150.00, for a total value of $286,650.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 39,652 shares in the company, valued at $5,947,800. This trade represents a 4.60 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. AMF Tjanstepension AB bought a new position in Agilent Technologies during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $2,726,000. Brookstone Capital Management raised its holdings in Agilent Technologies by 12.1% during the 3rd quarter. Brookstone Capital Management now owns 1,903 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $283,000 after purchasing an additional 205 shares during the last quarter. CWM LLC raised its holdings in Agilent Technologies by 1.3% during the 3rd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 11,491 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $1,706,000 after purchasing an additional 153 shares during the last quarter. Wesbanco Bank Inc. raised its holdings in Agilent Technologies by 8.4% during the 3rd quarter. Wesbanco Bank Inc. now owns 2,455 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $365,000 after purchasing an additional 190 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Creative Planning raised its holdings in Agilent Technologies by 5.9% during the 3rd quarter. Creative Planning now owns 44,910 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $6,668,000 after purchasing an additional 2,498 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.