Agilent Technologies, Inc. (A) to Issue Quarterly Dividend of $0.24 on October 23rd

Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A) announced a quarterly dividend on Wednesday, September 18th, NASDAQ reports. Investors of record on Tuesday, October 1st will be paid a dividend of 0.236 per share by the medical research company on Wednesday, October 23rd. This represents a $0.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.64%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, October 1st.

Agilent Technologies has increased its dividend by an average of 19.0% annually over the last three years. Agilent Technologies has a payout ratio of 16.6% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities analysts expect Agilent Technologies to earn $5.73 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $0.94 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 16.4%.

Agilent Technologies Price Performance

Shares of A stock opened at $148.06 on Friday. Agilent Technologies has a twelve month low of $96.80 and a twelve month high of $155.35. The company has a current ratio of 1.78, a quick ratio of 1.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $138.91 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $139.05. The stock has a market capitalization of $43.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.00, a P/E/G ratio of 6.48 and a beta of 1.05.

Agilent Technologies (NYSE:A) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, August 21st. The medical research company reported $1.32 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.26 by $0.06. Agilent Technologies had a net margin of 21.75% and a return on equity of 25.26%. The company had revenue of $1.58 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.56 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.43 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 5.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts predict that Agilent Technologies will post 5.24 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have weighed in on the company. Barclays upped their target price on Agilent Technologies from $125.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Friday, August 23rd. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a “hold” rating and issued a $135.00 target price (down previously from $152.00) on shares of Agilent Technologies in a research note on Monday, June 3rd. Wolfe Research downgraded shares of Agilent Technologies from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a report on Thursday, June 27th. Wells Fargo & Company assumed coverage on shares of Agilent Technologies in a report on Tuesday, August 27th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $157.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Bank of America boosted their price objective on shares of Agilent Technologies from $140.00 to $147.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 22nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $142.93.

Insider Activity

In other Agilent Technologies news, CEO Padraig Mcdonnell sold 1,958 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $145.00, for a total transaction of $283,910.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 24,118 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,497,110. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In other Agilent Technologies news, SVP Dominique Grau sold 9,990 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $145.00, for a total value of $1,448,550.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 40,011 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,801,595. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Padraig Mcdonnell sold 1,958 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $145.00, for a total transaction of $283,910.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 24,118 shares in the company, valued at $3,497,110. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 13,906 shares of company stock valued at $2,006,580 over the last ninety days. 0.33% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.