Agilent Technologies (NYSE:A) Price Target Cut to $135.00 by Analysts at Sanford C. Bernstein

Agilent Technologies (NYSE:A) had its target price reduced by Sanford C. Bernstein from $140.00 to $135.00 in a research note issued to investors on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. Sanford C. Bernstein currently has a market perform rating on the medical research company’s stock.

Several other analysts have also recently weighed in on A. Barclays raised their target price on shares of Agilent Technologies from $135.00 to $145.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 15th. UBS Group lifted their price objective on shares of Agilent Technologies from $141.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company initiated coverage on Agilent Technologies in a report on Tuesday, August 27th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $157.00 target price on the stock. Citigroup lifted their price target on Agilent Technologies from $150.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 22nd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on Agilent Technologies from $165.00 to $160.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report 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’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $143.40.

Agilent Technologies Price Performance

A stock opened at $138.14 on Tuesday. The business’s 50-day moving average is $137.65 and its two-hundred day moving average is $137.44. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $39.69 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.66, a P/E/G ratio of 5.91 and a beta of 1.07. Agilent Technologies has a 1 year low of $124.10 and a 1 year high of $155.35.

Agilent Technologies Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 22nd. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 31st will be paid a $0.248 dividend. This is an increase from Agilent Technologies’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.24. This represents a $0.99 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.72%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 31st. Agilent Technologies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 20.54%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, SVP Dominique Grau sold 9,990 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 40,011 shares in the company, valued at $5,801,595. This represents a 19.98 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 0.33% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Agilent Technologies

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of A. Cetera Investment Advisers raised its position in shares of Agilent Technologies by 953.3% in the first quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 32,694 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $4,757,000 after buying an additional 29,590 shares during the last quarter. iA Global Asset Management Inc. raised its holdings in Agilent Technologies by 26.2% in the 1st quarter. iA Global Asset Management Inc. now owns 21,770 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $3,168,000 after acquiring an additional 4,523 shares during the last quarter. Marshall Financial Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Agilent Technologies during the 2nd quarter worth $1,058,000. Van ECK Associates Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Agilent Technologies by 6.6% during the third quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 2,976,905 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $442,011,000 after purchasing an additional 183,716 shares during the last quarter. Finally, AXA S.A. grew its position in shares of Agilent Technologies by 32.3% in the second quarter. AXA S.A. now owns 362,945 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $47,049,000 after purchasing an additional 88,667 shares during the period. 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.