Brokerages Set Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A) Target Price at $138.06

Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A) has earned an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the sixteen ratings firms that are currently covering the stock, MarketBeat reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, six have assigned a hold recommendation and nine have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month target price among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $138.06.

A has been the topic of a number of research reports. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a “hold” rating and set a $135.00 target price (down from $152.00) on shares of Agilent Technologies in a research report on Monday, June 3rd. Citigroup upgraded shares of Agilent Technologies from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $135.00 to $150.00 in a report on Wednesday, July 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on shares of Agilent Technologies from $165.00 to $155.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, May 30th. Evercore ISI boosted their target price on shares of Agilent Technologies from $126.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 2nd. Finally, Robert W. Baird lowered their target price on shares of Agilent Technologies from $147.00 to $136.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, May 30th.

Insider Activity at Agilent Technologies

In related news, SVP Dominique Grau sold 15,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $133.28, for a total value of $1,999,200.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 49,486 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,595,494.08. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In other Agilent Technologies news, CEO Padraig Mcdonnell sold 1,958 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, June 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $130.00, for a total transaction of $254,540.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 25,185 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,274,050. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, SVP Dominique Grau sold 15,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, June 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $133.28, for a total value of $1,999,200.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 49,486 shares in the company, valued at $6,595,494.08. The disclosure for this sale can be found here.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Quantbot Technologies LP purchased a new position in Agilent Technologies in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $938,000. UBS Group AG raised its stake in shares of Agilent Technologies by 84.5% during the 4th quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 325,695 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $45,281,000 after purchasing an additional 149,159 shares during the period. TD Asset Management Inc lifted its holdings in Agilent Technologies by 27.1% during the 4th quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 1,609,420 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $223,758,000 after purchasing an additional 343,175 shares in the last quarter. DAVENPORT & Co LLC boosted its stake in Agilent Technologies by 77.7% in the 4th quarter. DAVENPORT & Co LLC now owns 4,882 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $679,000 after purchasing an additional 2,135 shares during the period. Finally, Meritage Group LP grew its holdings in Agilent Technologies by 28.3% during the 4th quarter. Meritage Group LP now owns 2,116,862 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $294,307,000 after buying an additional 467,451 shares in the last quarter.

Agilent Technologies Trading Up 2.7 %

NYSE:A opened at $134.22 on Thursday. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $135.29 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $137.53. Agilent Technologies has a 12 month low of $96.80 and a 12 month high of $155.35. The stock has a market capitalization of $39.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.73, a PEG ratio of 4.53 and a beta of 1.05. The company has a current ratio of 2.15, a quick ratio of 1.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34.

Agilent Technologies (NYSE:A) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, May 29th. The medical research company reported $1.22 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.19 by $0.03. Agilent Technologies had a return on equity of 26.25% and a net margin of 18.84%. The business had revenue of $1.57 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.58 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.27 EPS. The firm’s revenue was down 8.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts expect that Agilent Technologies will post 5.24 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Agilent Technologies Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 24th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, July 2nd were issued a $0.236 dividend. This represents a $0.94 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.70%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, July 2nd. Agilent Technologies’s dividend payout ratio is presently 22.22%.

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.