Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A) Sees Large Decrease in Short Interest

Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A) was the target of a large decline in short interest during the month of November. As of November 30th, there was short interest totalling 2,870,000 shares, a decline of 12.2% from the November 15th total of 3,270,000 shares. Currently, 1.0% of the company’s stock are sold short. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 1,700,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 1.7 days.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Dominique Grau sold 9,990 shares of Agilent Technologies stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $145.00, for a total value of $1,448,550.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 40,011 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,801,595. This trade represents a 19.98 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.33% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Agilent Technologies

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its stake in shares of Agilent Technologies by 3.5% in the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 15,589,874 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $2,314,784,000 after acquiring an additional 525,214 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp raised its position in Agilent Technologies by 1.2% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 12,819,897 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $1,903,498,000 after purchasing an additional 158,175 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in Agilent Technologies by 0.4% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 6,948,679 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $1,028,241,000 after purchasing an additional 30,610 shares during the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp lifted its holdings in Agilent Technologies by 6.6% during the 3rd quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 2,976,905 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $442,011,000 after buying an additional 183,716 shares in the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its position in Agilent Technologies by 4.8% in the 3rd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 2,948,536 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $437,799,000 after buying an additional 136,184 shares during the last quarter. 87.42% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have weighed in on A shares. Barclays cut their target price on shares of Agilent Technologies from $145.00 to $135.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, November 27th. TD Cowen increased their price target on shares of Agilent Technologies from $153.00 to $160.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 22nd. Citigroup boosted their price objective on shares of Agilent Technologies from $150.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 22nd. Bank of America reduced their target price 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. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on Agilent Technologies from $157.00 to $155.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, December 9th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $143.62.

Agilent Technologies Price Performance

NYSE:A traded down $1.21 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $136.46. The company had a trading volume of 2,430,649 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,722,684. The company has a quick ratio of 1.58, a current ratio of 2.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $136.63 and a two-hundred day moving average of $136.42. Agilent Technologies has a one year low of $124.16 and a one year high of $155.35. The firm has a market capitalization of $39.21 billion, a PE ratio of 30.87, a PEG ratio of 4.48 and a beta of 1.07.

Agilent Technologies (NYSE:A) last posted its earnings results on Monday, November 25th. The medical research company reported $1.46 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.41 by $0.05. Agilent Technologies had a net margin of 19.80% and a return on equity of 25.43%. The business had revenue of $1.70 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.67 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.38 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up .8% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts forecast that Agilent Technologies will post 5.56 earnings per share for the current year.

Agilent Technologies Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 22nd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st will be paid a $0.248 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, December 31st. This represents a $0.99 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.73%. This is a boost from Agilent Technologies’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.24. Agilent Technologies’s payout ratio is 22.40%.

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.