Wells Fargo & Company Lowers Agilent Technologies (NYSE:A) Price Target to $135.00

Agilent Technologies (NYSE:A) had its price objective trimmed by Wells Fargo & Company from $155.00 to $135.00 in a research note issued to investors on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an overweight rating on the medical research company’s stock.

Other equities research analysts also recently issued research reports about the stock. TD Cowen boosted their target price on shares of Agilent Technologies to $135.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 10th. Citigroup raised their price objective on shares of Agilent Technologies to $165.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, December 19th. Robert W. Baird decreased their price target on Agilent Technologies from $161.00 to $159.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. StockNews.com upgraded Agilent Technologies from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 24th. Finally, Barclays lowered their target price on Agilent Technologies from $138.00 to $115.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 10th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Agilent Technologies currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $144.58.

Agilent Technologies Price Performance

NYSE:A opened at $102.38 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $29.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.54, a PEG ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 1.19. The company has a 50-day moving average of $119.55 and a 200-day moving average of $132.40. Agilent Technologies has a 52 week low of $96.43 and a 52 week high of $155.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56, a quick ratio of 1.66 and a current ratio of 2.20.

Agilent Technologies (NYSE:A) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 26th. The medical research company reported $1.31 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.27 by $0.04. Agilent Technologies had a return on equity of 25.56% and a net margin of 19.27%. The company had revenue of $1.68 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.67 billion. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Agilent Technologies will post 5.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Agilent Technologies Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 23rd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, April 1st will be paid a $0.248 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 1st. This represents a $0.99 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.97%. Agilent Technologies’s payout ratio is presently 22.76%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Padraig Mcdonnell sold 1,911 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $150.00, for a total transaction of $286,650.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 39,652 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,947,800. This trade represents a 4.60 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Daniel K. Podolsky sold 1,819 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $116.46, for a total value of $211,840.74. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 35,737 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,161,931.02. The trade was a 4.84 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 5,638 shares of company stock valued at $731,229. Company insiders own 0.26% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Agilent Technologies

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. CKW Financial Group grew its holdings in shares of Agilent Technologies by 114.9% during the fourth quarter. CKW Financial Group now owns 187 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. Global X Japan Co. Ltd. grew its stake in shares of Agilent Technologies by 161.1% during the 4th quarter. Global X Japan Co. Ltd. now owns 188 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 116 shares in the last quarter. Redwood Park Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Agilent Technologies in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Lee Danner & Bass Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Agilent Technologies in the fourth quarter worth $29,000. Finally, Sunbelt Securities Inc. boosted its holdings in Agilent Technologies by 640.0% during the fourth quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. now owns 222 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 192 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors 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.