StockNews.com Downgrades Agilent Technologies (NYSE:A) to Hold

StockNews.com lowered shares of Agilent Technologies (NYSE:A) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a report published on Tuesday.

Several other research analysts have also issued reports on A. Citigroup boosted their target price on Agilent Technologies from $150.00 to $165.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 22nd. TD Cowen raised their price target on Agilent Technologies from $153.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 22nd. Evercore ISI upped their price objective on Agilent Technologies from $135.00 to $145.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 1st. Stifel Nicolaus reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $151.00 target price on shares of Agilent Technologies in a research note on Monday, August 26th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on shares of Agilent Technologies from $165.00 to $160.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $143.40.

Agilent Technologies Trading Up 2.8 %

Shares of A stock opened at $138.14 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $39.69 billion, a PE ratio of 28.66, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.91 and a beta of 1.07. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a current ratio of 1.78 and a quick ratio of 1.37. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $137.65 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $137.44. Agilent Technologies has a 1 year low of $124.10 and a 1 year high of $155.35.

Agilent Technologies Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 22nd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st will be issued a $0.248 dividend. This is a positive change from Agilent Technologies’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.24. This represents a $0.99 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.72%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, December 31st. Agilent Technologies’s dividend payout ratio is currently 20.54%.

Insider Activity at Agilent Technologies

In related news, SVP Dominique Grau sold 9,990 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 sale, 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 position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.33% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Livelsberger Financial Advisory purchased a new stake in shares of Agilent Technologies in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Crewe Advisors LLC increased its holdings 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 during the last quarter. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC acquired a new stake in Agilent Technologies in the third quarter valued at $31,000. Ridgewood Investments LLC purchased a new stake in Agilent Technologies during the 2nd quarter worth about $29,000. Finally, Fortitude Family Office LLC boosted its position in shares of Agilent Technologies by 68.3% during the 3rd quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 234 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $35,000 after acquiring an additional 95 shares in the last quarter. 87.42% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.