Agilent Technologies (NYSE:A) Given New $155.00 Price Target at JPMorgan Chase & Co.

Agilent Technologies (NYSE:A) had its price target trimmed by JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $160.00 to $155.00 in a research note issued to investors on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an overweight rating on the medical research company’s stock.

Other analysts have also recently issued research reports about the company. Barclays cut their price objective on Agilent Technologies from $138.00 to $115.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 10th. Robert W. Baird dropped their price target on Agilent Technologies from $159.00 to $140.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, May 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on shares of Agilent Technologies from $155.00 to $135.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 17th. TD Cowen increased their target price on shares of Agilent Technologies to $150.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price target on shares of Agilent Technologies from $135.00 to $116.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 21st. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $140.58.

Agilent Technologies Stock Up 2.2%

Shares of NYSE:A opened at $113.27 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $32.29 billion, a PE ratio of 26.04, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.14 and a beta of 1.27. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $108.61 and a 200 day simple moving average of $126.62. The company has a current ratio of 2.20, a quick ratio of 1.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56. Agilent Technologies has a 12-month low of $96.43 and a 12-month high of $153.84.

Agilent Technologies (NYSE:A) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, May 28th. The medical research company reported $1.31 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.26 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $1.67 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.63 billion. Agilent Technologies had a net margin of 19.27% and a return on equity of 25.56%. The company’s revenue was up 6.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.22 EPS. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Agilent Technologies will post 5.54 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Agilent Technologies Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 23rd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, July 1st will be issued a dividend of $0.248 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, July 1st. This represents a $0.99 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.88%. Agilent Technologies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 24.44%.

Insider Activity at Agilent Technologies

In related news, Director Daniel K. Podolsky sold 1,819 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $116.46, for a total transaction of $211,840.74. Following the transaction, the director now owns 35,737 shares in the company, valued at $4,161,931.02. This trade represents a 4.84% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, VP Rodney Gonsalves sold 1,908 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, March 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $121.98, for a total value 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. The trade was a 8.05% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.26% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of A. Global X Japan Co. Ltd. lifted its holdings in Agilent Technologies by 161.1% in the 4th quarter. Global X Japan Co. Ltd. now owns 188 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 116 shares during the last quarter. Redwood Park Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Agilent Technologies in the 4th quarter worth approximately $27,000. Lee Danner & Bass Inc. acquired a new stake in Agilent Technologies during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Agilent Technologies by 286.2% during the first quarter. Whipplewood Advisors LLC now owns 251 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 186 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sunbelt Securities Inc. grew its position in Agilent Technologies by 640.0% in the fourth quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. now owns 222 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 192 shares during the last quarter. 87.42% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.