Agilent Technologies (NYSE:A) Price Target Lowered to $160.00 at JPMorgan Chase & Co.

Agilent Technologies (NYSE:A) had its price target reduced by JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $165.00 to $160.00 in a research note issued to investors on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. They currently have an overweight rating on the medical research company’s stock.

A number of other equities analysts have also weighed in on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company began coverage on shares of Agilent Technologies in a research report on Tuesday, August 27th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $157.00 price target for the company. Evercore ISI increased their price target on Agilent Technologies from $135.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 1st. Citigroup boosted their price objective on Agilent Technologies from $150.00 to $165.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 22nd. UBS Group upped 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. Finally, TD Cowen lifted their target price on Agilent Technologies from $153.00 to $160.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 22nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $143.40.

Agilent Technologies Stock Down 0.1 %

NYSE A opened at $137.98 on Tuesday. Agilent Technologies has a 52 week low of $124.16 and a 52 week high of $155.35. The company has a quick ratio of 1.37, a current ratio of 2.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57. The company has a market capitalization of $39.65 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.22, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.38 and a beta of 1.07. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $137.60 and its 200-day moving average price is $137.37.

Agilent Technologies Increases Dividend

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

Insider Activity at Agilent Technologies

In other Agilent Technologies news, SVP Dominique Grau sold 9,990 shares of the company’s 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 sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 40,011 shares in the company, valued at $5,801,595. This represents a 19.98 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Agilent Technologies

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its position in Agilent Technologies by 5.7% in the 2nd 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 purchasing an additional 809,149 shares during the period. FMR LLC grew its stake in shares of Agilent Technologies by 62.2% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,287,665 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $191,193,000 after buying an additional 493,947 shares during the last quarter. Worldquant Millennium Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Agilent Technologies in the third quarter worth approximately $49,449,000. Marshall Wace LLP lifted its stake in shares of Agilent Technologies by 48.6% during the 2nd quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 957,128 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $124,073,000 after acquiring an additional 313,155 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Jennison Associates LLC boosted its holdings in Agilent Technologies by 63.3% during the 3rd quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 586,439 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $87,075,000 after acquiring 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.