Agilent Technologies (NYSE:A) Issues Quarterly Earnings Results

Agilent Technologies (NYSE:A) released its quarterly earnings data on Monday. The medical research company reported $1.38 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.34 by $0.04, MarketWatch Earnings reports. Agilent Technologies had a net margin of 16.20% and a return on equity of 29.86%. The company had revenue of $1.69 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.67 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.53 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 8.7% on a year-over-year basis.

Agilent Technologies Stock Performance

Shares of A stock traded up $0.83 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $113.98. 2,908,299 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,824,946. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49, a current ratio of 2.29 and a quick ratio of 1.68. The company’s 50 day moving average is $109.96 and its two-hundred day moving average is $117.80. The company has a market cap of $33.35 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.84, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.01 and a beta of 1.04. Agilent Technologies has a 1 year low of $96.80 and a 1 year high of $160.26.

Agilent Technologies Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 24th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, January 2nd will be given a dividend of $0.236 per share. This is a boost from Agilent Technologies’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.23. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 29th. This represents a $0.94 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.83%. Agilent Technologies’s payout ratio is presently 24.61%.

Insider Activity at Agilent Technologies

In other news, VP Rodney Gonsalves sold 3,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $118.78, for a total transaction of $415,730.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 24,219 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,876,732.82. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.31% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Agilent Technologies

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Ancora Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Agilent Technologies by 41.1% during the 1st quarter. Ancora Advisors LLC now owns 326 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $45,000 after buying an additional 95 shares during the last quarter. Fred Alger Management LLC raised its position in Agilent Technologies by 2.9% during the third quarter. Fred Alger Management LLC now owns 4,757 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $578,000 after acquiring an additional 136 shares during the last quarter. Fiduciary Trust Co. raised its position in Agilent Technologies by 2.4% during the first quarter. Fiduciary Trust Co. now owns 5,994 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $829,000 after acquiring an additional 138 shares during the last quarter. Synovus Financial Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Agilent Technologies by 2.3% in the first quarter. Synovus Financial Corp now owns 6,751 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $895,000 after purchasing an additional 153 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC grew its position in shares of Agilent Technologies by 6.1% in the second quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC now owns 2,709 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $326,000 after purchasing an additional 156 shares during the last quarter. 85.42% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A has been the topic of several research analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on shares of Agilent Technologies from $155.00 to $150.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, August 16th. TD Cowen lifted their target price on Agilent Technologies from $145.00 to $147.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 16th. Sanford C. Bernstein began coverage on Agilent Technologies in a research report on Thursday, September 28th. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $123.00 target price for the company. Credit Suisse Group cut their price target on Agilent Technologies from $160.00 to $150.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, August 16th. Finally, Evercore ISI decreased their price objective on Agilent Technologies from $124.00 to $120.00 and set an “in-line” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, August 16th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $143.94.

Agilent Technologies Company Profile

Agilent Technologies, Inc provides application focused solutions to the life sciences, diagnostics, and applied chemical markets worldwide. 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; vacuum pumps, and measurement technologies.