Agilent Technologies (NYSE:A) Reaches New 12-Month Low – What’s Next?

Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A) shares reached a new 52-week low during mid-day trading on Friday . The company traded as low as $116.36 and last traded at $116.87, with a volume of 358979 shares. The stock had previously closed at $118.97.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on A shares. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on Agilent Technologies from $157.00 to $155.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, December 9th. Barclays raised shares of Agilent Technologies from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $135.00 to $145.00 in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Citigroup boosted 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 reduced their target price on shares of Agilent Technologies from $161.00 to $159.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 27th. Finally, Bank of America lowered their price target on shares of Agilent Technologies from $153.00 to $150.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $150.83.

Agilent Technologies Stock Performance

The company has a current ratio of 2.20, a quick ratio of 1.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56. The business has a fifty day moving average of $134.29 and a 200-day moving average of $136.64. The company has a market cap of $33.23 billion, a PE ratio of 26.79, a P/E/G ratio of 3.28 and a beta of 1.11.

Agilent Technologies (NYSE:A) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 26th. The medical research company reported $1.31 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.27 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $1.68 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.67 billion. Agilent Technologies had a return on equity of 25.56% and a net margin of 19.27%. Equities research analysts anticipate that Agilent Technologies, Inc. will post 5.57 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Agilent Technologies Announces Dividend

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Padraig Mcdonnell sold 1,911 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $150.00, for a total value of $286,650.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 39,652 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,947,800. This represents a 4.60 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, VP Rodney Gonsalves sold 1,908 shares of Agilent Technologies stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $121.98, for a total transaction of $232,737.84. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 21,786 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,657,456.28. This trade represents a 8.05 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here.

Institutional Trading of Agilent Technologies

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. 111 Capital bought a new position in Agilent Technologies in the 4th quarter worth about $668,000. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC raised its holdings in Agilent Technologies by 32.9% in the fourth quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 27,563 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $3,703,000 after buying an additional 6,828 shares during the last quarter. Lansforsakringar Fondforvaltning AB publ bought a new position in shares of Agilent Technologies in the fourth quarter worth approximately $12,804,000. PKO Investment Management Joint Stock Co purchased a new stake in shares of Agilent Technologies during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $484,000. Finally, Wood Tarver Financial Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Agilent Technologies during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $34,000.

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.