Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A) Sees Large Growth in Short Interest

Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A) saw a significant growth in short interest in the month of October. As of October 31st, there was short interest totalling 3,460,000 shares, a growth of 6.8% from the October 15th total of 3,240,000 shares. Approximately 1.2% of the shares of the company are short sold. Based on an average trading volume of 1,550,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 2.2 days.

Agilent Technologies Price Performance

Shares of A traded down $0.15 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $126.77. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 572,610 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,700,813. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a current ratio of 1.78 and a quick ratio of 1.37. Agilent Technologies has a fifty-two week low of $112.39 and a fifty-two week high of $155.35. The stock has a market capitalization of $36.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.14, a PEG ratio of 5.59 and a beta of 1.07. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $138.50 and a 200 day moving average price of $137.92.

Agilent Technologies (NYSE:A) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, August 21st. The medical research company reported $1.32 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.26 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $1.58 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.56 billion. Agilent Technologies had a net margin of 21.75% and a return on equity of 25.26%. The company’s revenue was down 5.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.43 earnings per share. On average, research analysts predict that Agilent Technologies will post 5.24 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Agilent Technologies Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, October 23rd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, October 1st were issued a dividend of $0.236 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, October 1st. This represents a $0.94 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.74%. Agilent Technologies’s payout ratio is 19.50%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently commented on A. Wells Fargo & Company began coverage on Agilent Technologies in a research note on Tuesday, August 27th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $157.00 target price for the company. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of Agilent Technologies from $135.00 to $145.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 15th. TD Cowen lifted their target price on shares of Agilent Technologies from $153.00 to $160.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 22nd. Citigroup raised their price objective on Agilent Technologies from $150.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 22nd. Finally, UBS Group raised their price target on Agilent Technologies from $141.00 to $150.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, August 22nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Agilent Technologies has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $144.36.

Insider Buying and Selling at Agilent Technologies

In other news, SVP Dominique Grau sold 9,990 shares of the 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 directly owns 40,011 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,801,595. This represents a 19.98 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Padraig Mcdonnell sold 1,958 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $145.00, for a total transaction of $283,910.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 24,118 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,497,110. The trade was a 7.51 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 11,995 shares of company stock worth $1,739,510 over the last ninety days.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Agilent Technologies

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Crewe Advisors LLC boosted its position in Agilent Technologies by 114.8% in the second quarter. Crewe Advisors LLC now owns 189 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 101 shares in the last quarter. Livelsberger Financial Advisory bought a new stake in Agilent Technologies during the 3rd quarter worth about $28,000. Ridgewood Investments LLC bought a new position in Agilent Technologies in the 2nd quarter valued at $29,000. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC bought a new position in Agilent Technologies in the third quarter valued at about $31,000. Finally, Fortitude Family Office LLC raised its stake 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 buying an additional 95 shares during the last quarter.

About Agilent Technologies

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.