Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A) Given Consensus Rating of “Hold” by Brokerages

Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A) has been assigned a consensus rating of “Hold” from the fourteen analysts that are covering the company, Marketbeat reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 12 month target price among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $143.62.

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on A shares. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on shares of Agilent Technologies from $157.00 to $155.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, December 9th. StockNews.com upgraded Agilent Technologies from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 24th. Bank of America dropped their target price on Agilent Technologies from $153.00 to $150.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Barclays decreased their price target on Agilent Technologies from $145.00 to $135.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, November 27th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein dropped their price target on Agilent Technologies from $140.00 to $135.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, November 26th.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Agilent Technologies

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Clarius Group LLC lifted its holdings in Agilent Technologies by 8.3% in the fourth quarter. Clarius Group LLC now owns 2,217 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $298,000 after acquiring an additional 170 shares during the period. Aaron Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Agilent Technologies by 19.8% in the 4th quarter. Aaron Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 3,210 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $431,000 after purchasing an additional 530 shares during the period. Kera Capital Partners Inc. purchased a new stake in Agilent Technologies during the fourth quarter worth $216,000. Trust Co. of Vermont boosted its holdings in Agilent Technologies by 5.2% during the fourth quarter. Trust Co. of Vermont now owns 3,015 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $405,000 after buying an additional 150 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Premier Path Wealth Partners LLC grew its position in Agilent Technologies by 4.8% during the fourth quarter. Premier Path Wealth Partners LLC now owns 2,276 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $306,000 after buying an additional 105 shares during the period. 87.42% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Agilent Technologies Stock Down 0.9 %

Agilent Technologies stock opened at $142.19 on Thursday. Agilent Technologies has a twelve month low of $124.16 and a twelve month high of $155.35. The business has a fifty day moving average of $136.07 and a two-hundred day moving average of $136.96. The firm has a market cap of $40.61 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.17, a P/E/G ratio of 4.48 and a beta of 1.06. The company has a quick ratio of 1.58, a current ratio of 2.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57.

Agilent Technologies (NYSE:A) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, November 25th. The medical research company reported $1.46 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.41 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $1.70 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.67 billion. Agilent Technologies had a return on equity of 25.43% and a net margin of 19.80%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up .8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.38 earnings per share. On average, analysts forecast that Agilent Technologies will post 5.56 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Agilent Technologies Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 22nd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st will be paid a dividend of $0.248 per share. This represents a $0.99 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.70%. This is a boost from Agilent Technologies’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.24. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, December 31st. Agilent Technologies’s payout ratio is presently 22.40%.

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.