Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A) Sees Significant Drop in Short Interest

Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A) was the recipient of a large drop in short interest during the month of September. As of September 30th, there was short interest totalling 3,130,000 shares, a drop of 5.4% from the September 15th total of 3,310,000 shares. Approximately 1.1% of the company’s shares are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 1,520,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 2.1 days.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently weighed in on A shares. UBS Group boosted their price target on shares of Agilent Technologies from $141.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report 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 research note on Tuesday, October 1st. Stifel Nicolaus reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $151.00 price target on shares of Agilent Technologies in a research report on Monday, August 26th. Wells Fargo & Company started coverage on Agilent Technologies in a research report on Tuesday, August 27th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $157.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, TD Cowen raised their target price on Agilent Technologies from $153.00 to $160.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 22nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Agilent Technologies presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $144.36.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, SVP Dominique Grau sold 9,990 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,801,595. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other Agilent Technologies news, CEO Padraig Mcdonnell sold 1,958 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, July 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $140.00, for a total transaction of $274,120.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 26,076 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,650,640. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, SVP Dominique Grau sold 9,990 shares of Agilent Technologies stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $145.00, for a total transaction of $1,448,550.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 40,011 shares in the company, valued at $5,801,595. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 13,953 shares of company stock worth $2,013,630. 0.33% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Quantbot Technologies LP bought a new stake in Agilent Technologies during the first quarter valued at $938,000. Cetera Investment Advisers boosted its position in shares of Agilent Technologies by 953.3% during the 1st quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 32,694 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $4,757,000 after acquiring an additional 29,590 shares during the last quarter. iA Global Asset Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Agilent Technologies by 26.2% during the first quarter. iA Global Asset Management Inc. now owns 21,770 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $3,168,000 after purchasing an additional 4,523 shares in the last quarter. Bayesian Capital Management LP bought a new position in shares of Agilent Technologies in the first quarter worth approximately $1,355,000. Finally, Nomura Holdings Inc. purchased a new stake in Agilent Technologies in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $823,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.42% of the company’s stock.

Agilent Technologies Price Performance

A opened at $138.83 on Friday. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $141.02 and a 200-day moving average price of $138.81. Agilent Technologies has a twelve month low of $96.80 and a twelve month high of $155.35. The company has a quick ratio of 1.37, a current ratio of 1.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36. The company has a market capitalization of $40.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.82, a PEG ratio of 6.96 and a beta of 1.05.

Agilent Technologies (NYSE:A) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 21st. The medical research company reported $1.32 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.26 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $1.58 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.56 billion. Agilent Technologies had a net margin of 21.75% and a return on equity of 25.26%. Agilent Technologies’s revenue was down 5.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.43 EPS. Equities analysts expect that Agilent Technologies will post 5.24 EPS for the current year.

Agilent Technologies Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 23rd. Investors of record on Tuesday, October 1st will be issued a dividend of $0.236 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, October 1st. This represents a $0.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.68%. Agilent Technologies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 22.22%.

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.