Agilent Technologies (NYSE:A) Shares Gap Up on Earnings Beat

Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A)’s stock price gapped up prior to trading on Thursday after the company announced better than expected quarterly earnings. The stock had previously closed at $110.88, but opened at $116.95. Agilent Technologies shares last traded at $116.33, with a volume of 445,474 shares trading hands.

The medical research company reported $1.31 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.26 by $0.05. Agilent Technologies had a net margin of 19.27% and a return on equity of 25.56%. The business had revenue of $1.67 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.63 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.22 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 6.0% compared to the same quarter last year.

Agilent Technologies Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 23rd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, July 1st will be given a dividend of $0.248 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, July 1st. This represents a $0.99 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.85%. Agilent Technologies’s dividend payout ratio is currently 22.76%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price target on shares of Agilent Technologies from $135.00 to $116.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 21st. Barclays dropped their target price on shares of Agilent Technologies from $138.00 to $115.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 10th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on shares of Agilent Technologies from $155.00 to $135.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 17th. TD Cowen boosted their target price on shares of Agilent Technologies to $150.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday. Finally, Robert W. Baird dropped their price target on shares of Agilent Technologies from $159.00 to $140.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 22nd. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $142.67.

Insider Transactions at Agilent Technologies

In other Agilent Technologies news, Director Daniel K. Podolsky sold 1,819 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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 sale, the director now owns 35,737 shares in the company, valued at $4,161,931.02. This trade represents a 4.84% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, VP Rodney Gonsalves sold 1,908 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, March 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $121.98, for a total value of $232,737.84. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 21,786 shares in the company, valued at $2,657,456.28. The trade was a 8.05% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Agilent Technologies

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Agilent Technologies by 0.7% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 33,408,626 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $3,908,141,000 after acquiring an additional 240,965 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its stake in shares of Agilent Technologies by 0.6% in the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 9,306,805 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $1,250,276,000 after purchasing an additional 59,781 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Agilent Technologies by 0.8% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 7,002,671 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $938,291,000 after purchasing an additional 53,992 shares during the last quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA boosted its stake in shares of Agilent Technologies by 2.5% in the 1st quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA now owns 5,341,870 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $624,888,000 after purchasing an additional 128,131 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Generation Investment Management LLP boosted its stake in shares of Agilent Technologies by 19.8% in the 1st quarter. Generation Investment Management LLP now owns 4,983,556 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $582,976,000 after purchasing an additional 824,243 shares during the last quarter.

Agilent Technologies Stock Performance

The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $108.79 and its 200 day moving average price is $126.76. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56, a quick ratio of 1.66 and a current ratio of 2.20. The company has a market capitalization of $33.14 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.76, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.14 and a beta of 1.27.

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.