Sanford C. Bernstein Issues Pessimistic Forecast for Agilent Technologies (NYSE:A) Stock Price

Agilent Technologies (NYSE:A) had its target price cut by Sanford C. Bernstein from $140.00 to $135.00 in a research report released on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. They currently have a market perform rating on the medical research company’s stock.

Other equities research analysts also recently issued reports about the stock. Stifel Nicolaus reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $151.00 price objective on shares of Agilent Technologies in a research report on Monday, August 26th. Wells Fargo & Company initiated coverage on Agilent Technologies in a report on Tuesday, August 27th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $157.00 price target for the company. TD Cowen boosted their target price on Agilent Technologies from $153.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 22nd. Evercore ISI increased their price target on shares of Agilent Technologies from $135.00 to $145.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 1st. Finally, Bank of America boosted their price objective on shares of Agilent Technologies from $140.00 to $147.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 22nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Agilent Technologies has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $143.40.

Agilent Technologies Price Performance

Shares of A opened at $137.98 on Tuesday. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $137.60 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $137.37. The stock has a market cap of $39.65 billion, a PE ratio of 31.22, a P/E/G ratio of 4.38 and a beta of 1.07. Agilent Technologies has a 1-year low of $124.16 and a 1-year high of $155.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57, a current ratio of 2.09 and a quick ratio of 1.37.

Agilent Technologies Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 22nd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st will be paid a dividend of $0.248 per share. This represents a $0.99 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.72%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 31st. This is a boost from Agilent Technologies’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.24. Agilent Technologies’s dividend payout ratio is 21.27%.

Insider Activity at Agilent Technologies

In other news, SVP Dominique Grau sold 9,990 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $145.00, for a total transaction of $1,448,550.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 40,011 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,801,595. This represents a 19.98 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink.

Institutional Trading of Agilent Technologies

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its position in Agilent Technologies by 5.7% in the second quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 15,064,660 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $1,952,832,000 after acquiring an additional 809,149 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC increased its holdings in shares of Agilent Technologies by 62.2% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,287,665 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $191,193,000 after purchasing an additional 493,947 shares in the last quarter. Worldquant Millennium Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Agilent Technologies in the third quarter valued at about $49,449,000. Marshall Wace LLP boosted its holdings in Agilent Technologies by 48.6% during the second quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 957,128 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $124,073,000 after buying an additional 313,155 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Jennison Associates LLC grew its position in Agilent Technologies by 63.3% during the third quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 586,439 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $87,075,000 after buying an additional 227,431 shares during the period.

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.