Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A) Short Interest Down 5.5% in November

Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A) saw a significant decline in short interest during the month of November. As of November 15th, there was short interest totalling 3,270,000 shares, a decline of 5.5% from the October 31st total of 3,460,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 1,660,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 2.0 days. Currently, 1.1% of the shares of the company are sold short.

Agilent Technologies Trading Up 0.7 %

NYSE A opened at $140.19 on Thursday. Agilent Technologies has a twelve month low of $124.16 and a twelve month high of $155.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57, a quick ratio of 1.58 and a current ratio of 2.09. The stock has a market cap of $40.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.72, a PEG ratio of 4.43 and a beta of 1.07. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $137.56 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $136.97.

Agilent Technologies (NYSE:A) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, November 25th. The medical research company reported $1.46 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.41 by $0.05. Agilent Technologies had a net margin of 19.80% and a return on equity of 25.43%. The firm had revenue of $1.70 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.67 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.38 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up .8% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts anticipate that Agilent Technologies will post 5.56 EPS for the current year.

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 $0.248 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, December 31st. This is an increase from Agilent Technologies’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.24. This represents a $0.99 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.71%. Agilent Technologies’s dividend payout ratio is 21.27%.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Dominique Grau sold 9,990 shares of Agilent Technologies 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 owns 40,011 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,801,595. The trade was a 19.98 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Agilent Technologies

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of A. Crewe Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Agilent Technologies by 114.8% in the second quarter. Crewe Advisors LLC now owns 189 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 101 shares during the last quarter. Livelsberger Financial Advisory acquired a new position in shares of Agilent Technologies in the third quarter worth $28,000. Ridgewood Investments LLC acquired a new position in shares of Agilent Technologies in the second quarter worth $29,000. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC acquired a new position in shares of Agilent Technologies in the third quarter worth $31,000. Finally, Fortitude Family Office LLC increased its position in Agilent Technologies by 68.3% during the third quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 234 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $35,000 after buying an additional 95 shares during the last quarter.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. TD Cowen boosted their target price on Agilent Technologies from $153.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 22nd. Barclays dropped their target price on Agilent Technologies from $145.00 to $135.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, November 27th. Citigroup boosted their target price on Agilent Technologies from $150.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 22nd. Sanford C. Bernstein dropped their target price on Agilent Technologies from $140.00 to $135.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, November 26th. Finally, Bank of America boosted their target price on Agilent Technologies from $140.00 to $147.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, August 22nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $143.40.

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.