Agilent Technologies (NYSE:A) Shares Gap Up – Still a Buy?

Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A)’s share price gapped up before the market opened on Friday . The stock had previously closed at $130.31, but opened at $139.13. Agilent Technologies shares last traded at $137.55, with a volume of 420,905 shares traded.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. UBS Group lifted their price objective on Agilent Technologies from $141.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 22nd. Evercore ISI lifted their price target on Agilent Technologies from $135.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 1st. TD Cowen increased their price objective on Agilent Technologies from $153.00 to $160.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company assumed coverage on shares of Agilent Technologies in a research report on Tuesday, August 27th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $157.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Citigroup upped their target price on shares of Agilent Technologies from $150.00 to $165.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 22nd. One 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. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $144.36.

Agilent Technologies Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a quick ratio of 1.37 and a current ratio of 1.78. The firm has a market capitalization of $39.33 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.40, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.31 and a beta of 1.07. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $139.73 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $138.05.

Agilent Technologies (NYSE:A) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 21st. The medical research company reported $1.32 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.26 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $1.58 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.56 billion. Agilent Technologies had a return on equity of 25.26% and a net margin of 21.75%. The company’s revenue was down 5.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.43 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Agilent Technologies, Inc. will post 5.24 earnings per share for the current year.

Agilent Technologies Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, October 23rd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, October 1st were paid a dividend of $0.236 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, October 1st. This represents a $0.94 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.69%. Agilent Technologies’s dividend payout ratio is currently 19.50%.

Insider Activity

In other Agilent Technologies news, CEO Padraig Mcdonnell sold 1,958 shares of the business’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 transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 24,118 shares in the company, valued at $3,497,110. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In other news, SVP Dominique Grau sold 9,990 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 40,011 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,801,595. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Padraig Mcdonnell sold 1,958 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $145.00, for a total transaction of $283,910.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 24,118 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,497,110. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 11,995 shares of company stock worth $1,739,510. Corporate insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Agilent Technologies

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in A. Troy Asset Management Ltd lifted its holdings in Agilent Technologies by 1.4% during the 3rd quarter. Troy Asset Management Ltd now owns 974,184 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $144,647,000 after buying an additional 13,852 shares in the last quarter. Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in Agilent Technologies by 3.5% during the 3rd quarter. Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc. now owns 8,242 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $1,224,000 after acquiring an additional 277 shares during the period. Assetmark Inc. raised its position in shares of Agilent Technologies by 60.9% during the 3rd quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 102,561 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $15,228,000 after acquiring an additional 38,808 shares during the last quarter. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Agilent Technologies in the 3rd quarter valued at $260,000. Finally, Rovin Capital UT ADV boosted its position in shares of Agilent Technologies by 1.6% in the 3rd quarter. Rovin Capital UT ADV now owns 5,049 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $750,000 after purchasing an additional 81 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.42% of the company’s stock.

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.