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

Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A) was the target of a large increase in short interest in October. As of October 31st, there was short interest totalling 3,460,000 shares, an increase of 6.8% from the October 15th total of 3,240,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 1,550,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 2.2 days. Currently, 1.2% of the shares of the stock are short sold.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on A shares. TD Cowen raised their target price on Agilent Technologies from $153.00 to $160.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 22nd. UBS Group increased their price target on Agilent Technologies from $141.00 to $150.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 22nd. Barclays increased their price target on Agilent Technologies from $135.00 to $145.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 15th. Evercore ISI increased their price target on Agilent Technologies from $135.00 to $145.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 1st. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $151.00 price target on shares of Agilent Technologies in a research report on Monday, August 26th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Agilent Technologies has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $144.36.

Agilent Technologies Stock Performance

Shares of Agilent Technologies stock traded down $0.15 on Monday, reaching $126.92. 1,443,851 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,706,001. Agilent Technologies has a 1-year low of $112.39 and a 1-year 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 business has a fifty day moving average price of $138.73 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $138.00. The firm has a market capitalization of $36.47 billion, a PE ratio of 26.36, a PEG ratio of 5.59 and a beta of 1.07.

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

Agilent Technologies Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, October 23rd. Investors of record on Tuesday, October 1st were issued a dividend of $0.236 per share. This represents a $0.94 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.74%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, October 1st. Agilent Technologies’s dividend payout ratio is currently 19.50%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, SVP Dominique Grau sold 9,990 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the senior vice president now owns 40,011 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,801,595. This represents a 19.98 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Padraig Mcdonnell sold 1,958 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $145.00, for a total value of $283,910.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 24,118 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,497,110. The trade was a 7.51 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 11,995 shares of company stock valued at $1,739,510 in the last 90 days.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Agilent Technologies

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Crewe Advisors LLC lifted its position in Agilent Technologies by 114.8% during the second quarter. Crewe Advisors LLC now owns 189 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 101 shares during the period. Livelsberger Financial Advisory bought a new stake in shares of Agilent Technologies during the 3rd quarter worth $28,000. Ridgewood Investments LLC purchased a new stake in Agilent Technologies in the 2nd quarter worth about $29,000. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC purchased a new stake in Agilent Technologies in the 3rd quarter worth about $31,000. Finally, Fortitude Family Office LLC grew its holdings in Agilent Technologies by 68.3% during the 3rd quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 234 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $35,000 after buying an additional 95 shares in the last quarter.

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.