Agilent Technologies (NYSE:A) Price Target Cut to $160.00 by Analysts at JPMorgan Chase & Co.

Agilent Technologies (NYSE:A) had its target price lowered by JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $165.00 to $160.00 in a report released on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an overweight rating on the medical research company’s stock.

A has been the topic of several other reports. Wells Fargo & Company began coverage on shares of Agilent Technologies in a research report on Tuesday, August 27th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $157.00 target price on the stock. TD Cowen raised their price objective on Agilent Technologies from $153.00 to $160.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 22nd. Evercore ISI boosted their target price on Agilent Technologies from $135.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 1st. Citigroup increased their price target on Agilent Technologies from $150.00 to $165.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 22nd. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus restated a “buy” rating and issued a $151.00 price objective on shares of Agilent Technologies in a research note on Monday, August 26th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Agilent Technologies currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $143.40.

Agilent Technologies Stock Performance

A stock opened at $138.14 on Tuesday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $137.65 and a two-hundred day moving average of $137.44. Agilent Technologies has a 12 month low of $124.10 and a 12 month high of $155.35. The company has a market capitalization of $39.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.66, a P/E/G ratio of 5.91 and a beta of 1.07. The company has a quick ratio of 1.37, a current ratio of 1.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36.

Agilent Technologies Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 22nd. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 31st will be given a dividend of $0.248 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 31st. 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 yield of 0.72%. Agilent Technologies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 20.54%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Agilent Technologies

In other 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 transaction of $1,448,550.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 40,011 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,801,595. This trade represents a 19.98 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its stake in shares of Agilent Technologies by 5.7% in the 2nd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 15,064,660 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $1,952,832,000 after purchasing an additional 809,149 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC boosted its position in Agilent Technologies by 62.2% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,287,665 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $191,193,000 after buying an additional 493,947 shares in the last quarter. Worldquant Millennium Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Agilent Technologies in the third quarter valued at about $49,449,000. Marshall Wace LLP grew its stake in Agilent Technologies by 48.6% during the second quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 957,128 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $124,073,000 after buying an additional 313,155 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Jennison Associates LLC increased its holdings in shares of Agilent Technologies by 63.3% during the third quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 586,439 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $87,075,000 after buying an additional 227,431 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.42% of the company’s stock.

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.