Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A) Short Interest Update

Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A) saw a large growth in short interest in the month of March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totalling 3,950,000 shares, a growth of 10.3% from the March 15th total of 3,580,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 1,590,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 2.5 days. Approximately 1.4% of the shares of the company are short sold.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have issued reports on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on Agilent Technologies from $140.00 to $165.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 20th. StockNews.com raised shares of Agilent Technologies from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 19th. Barclays increased their price target on shares of Agilent Technologies from $125.00 to $135.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. Oppenheimer boosted their price objective on shares of Agilent Technologies from $67.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 26th. Finally, Citigroup increased their target price on shares of Agilent Technologies from $130.00 to $145.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 28th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Agilent Technologies currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $141.29.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Heidi Fields sold 1,658 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $144.34, for a total value of $239,315.72. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 54,976 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,935,235.84. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, SVP Philip Binns sold 2,827 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $147.54, for a total value of $417,095.58. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 9,997 shares in the company, valued at $1,474,957.38. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Heidi Fields sold 1,658 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $144.34, for a total value of $239,315.72. Following the transaction, the director now owns 54,976 shares in the company, valued at $7,935,235.84. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 61,610 shares of company stock worth $9,220,333.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Agilent Technologies

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Money Concepts Capital Corp bought a new position in Agilent Technologies in the fourth quarter valued at $26,000. Livelsberger Financial Advisory bought a new stake in Agilent Technologies during the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. MV Capital Management Inc. grew its stake in Agilent Technologies by 120.7% in the fourth quarter. MV Capital Management Inc. now owns 192 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 105 shares in the last quarter. VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Agilent Technologies during the 4th quarter worth approximately $29,000. Finally, Rise Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Agilent Technologies by 527.8% during the 1st quarter. Rise Advisors LLC now owns 226 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 190 shares in the last quarter.

Agilent Technologies Price Performance

Shares of A opened at $136.71 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $40.06 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.55, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.26 and a beta of 1.11. Agilent Technologies has a 1 year low of $96.80 and a 1 year high of $151.58. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $141.19 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $129.45. The company has a current ratio of 2.68, a quick ratio of 2.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41.

Agilent Technologies (NYSE:A) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, February 27th. The medical research company reported $1.29 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.22 by $0.07. Agilent Technologies had a net margin of 18.35% and a return on equity of 27.09%. The company had revenue of $1.66 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.59 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.37 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 5.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts predict that Agilent Technologies will post 5.51 earnings per share for the current year.

Agilent Technologies Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 24th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, April 2nd will be given a dividend of $0.236 per share. This represents a $0.94 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.69%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, April 1st. Agilent Technologies’s dividend payout ratio is 22.38%.

Agilent Technologies Company Profile

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.