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

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

A number of other brokerages also recently issued reports on A. Stifel Nicolaus reissued a “buy” rating and set a $151.00 price target on shares of Agilent Technologies in a report on Monday, August 26th. Evercore ISI upped their price objective on shares of Agilent Technologies from $135.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 1st. Citigroup raised 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. Wells Fargo & Company began coverage on Agilent Technologies in a research note on Tuesday, August 27th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $157.00 price target for the company. Finally, Barclays increased their price target on Agilent Technologies from $135.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 15th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $143.40.

Agilent Technologies Trading Down 0.1 %

Shares of NYSE:A opened at $137.98 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 2.09, a quick ratio of 1.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57. Agilent Technologies has a 12-month low of $124.16 and a 12-month high of $155.35. The business has a 50 day moving average of $137.60 and a two-hundred day moving average of $137.37. The company has a market capitalization of $39.65 billion, a PE ratio of 31.22, a PEG ratio of 4.38 and a beta of 1.07.

Agilent Technologies Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 22nd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st will be issued a $0.248 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, December 31st. This represents a $0.99 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.72%. This is a positive change from Agilent Technologies’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.24. Agilent Technologies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 21.27%.

Insider Transactions at Agilent Technologies

In other Agilent Technologies news, SVP Dominique Grau sold 9,990 shares of the firm’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 value of $1,448,550.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 40,011 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,801,595. This trade represents a 19.98 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Agilent Technologies

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Crewe Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 101 shares during the period. Livelsberger Financial Advisory acquired a new position in Agilent Technologies in the 3rd quarter valued at about $28,000. Ridgewood Investments LLC acquired a new position in Agilent Technologies in the 2nd quarter valued at about $29,000. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Agilent Technologies in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Finally, Fortitude Family Office LLC increased its holdings 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 buying an additional 95 shares during the last quarter.

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.