Agilent Technologies (NYSE:A) Announces Earnings Results

Agilent Technologies (NYSE:A) posted its earnings results 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. The company had revenue of $1.69 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.67 billion. Agilent Technologies had a return on equity of 29.86% and a net margin of 16.20%. Agilent Technologies’s revenue was down 8.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.53 earnings per share.

Agilent Technologies Trading Up 0.7 %

Shares of Agilent Technologies stock traded up $0.83 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $113.98. The company had a trading volume of 2,908,299 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,824,946. The firm has a market cap of $33.35 billion, a PE ratio of 29.84, a P/E/G ratio of 2.01 and a beta of 1.04. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $109.96 and a 200 day moving average price of $117.80. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49, a current ratio of 2.29 and a quick ratio of 1.68. Agilent Technologies has a fifty-two week low of $96.80 and a fifty-two week high of $160.26.

Agilent Technologies Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 24th. Investors of record on Tuesday, January 2nd will be issued a dividend of $0.236 per share. This is an increase from Agilent Technologies’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.23. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 29th. This represents a $0.94 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.83%. Agilent Technologies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 24.61%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently weighed in on A. Robert W. Baird cut their price target on shares of Agilent Technologies from $144.00 to $140.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, August 16th. Jefferies Financial Group cut their price target on shares of Agilent Technologies from $150.00 to $146.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, August 16th. Sanford C. Bernstein initiated coverage on Agilent Technologies in a research report on Thursday, September 28th. They set a “market perform” rating and a $123.00 price target for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on Agilent Technologies from $155.00 to $150.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, August 16th. Finally, TheStreet lowered Agilent Technologies from a “b” rating to a “c+” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 15th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Agilent Technologies currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $143.94.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Agilent Technologies news, VP Rodney Gonsalves sold 3,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $118.78, for a total value of $415,730.00. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 24,219 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,876,732.82. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.31% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in A. Money Concepts Capital Corp purchased a new stake in Agilent Technologies in the fourth quarter worth $26,000. Ancora Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Agilent Technologies during the fourth quarter worth $34,000. Resurgent Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Agilent Technologies during the fourth quarter worth $57,000. Altshuler Shaham Ltd lifted its holdings in Agilent Technologies by 94.6% during the fourth quarter. Altshuler Shaham Ltd now owns 395 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $59,000 after buying an additional 192 shares during the period. Finally, Penserra Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in Agilent Technologies in the first quarter valued at approximately $60,000. 85.42% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About Agilent Technologies

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.