Short Interest in Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A) Declines By 12.2%

Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A) was the target of a large decrease in short interest during the month of November. As of November 30th, there was short interest totalling 2,870,000 shares, a decrease of 12.2% from the November 15th total of 3,270,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 1,700,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 1.7 days. Approximately 1.0% of the company’s shares are sold short.

Agilent Technologies Stock Down 1.4 %

Shares of Agilent Technologies stock traded down $1.91 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $139.00. 1,474,294 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,722,025. Agilent Technologies has a fifty-two week low of $124.16 and a fifty-two week high of $155.35. The stock has a market cap of $39.94 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.45, a P/E/G ratio of 4.48 and a beta of 1.07. The company has a current ratio of 2.09, a quick ratio of 1.58 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57. The company has a 50 day moving average of $136.75 and a two-hundred day moving average of $136.44.

Agilent Technologies (NYSE:A) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, November 25th. The medical research company reported $1.46 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 company had revenue of $1.70 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.67 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.38 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up .8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Agilent Technologies will post 5.56 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Agilent Technologies Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 22nd. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 31st will be paid a $0.248 dividend. This represents a $0.99 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.71%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, December 31st. This is an increase from Agilent Technologies’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.24. Agilent Technologies’s payout ratio is 22.40%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on A shares. TD Cowen boosted their price target on shares of Agilent Technologies from $153.00 to $160.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 22nd. Bank of America decreased their price target on shares of Agilent Technologies from $153.00 to $150.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday. UBS Group raised their price objective on Agilent Technologies from $141.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 22nd. Barclays dropped their price objective on shares of Agilent Technologies from $145.00 to $135.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, November 27th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus reissued a “buy” rating and set a $151.00 price target on shares of Agilent Technologies in a research note on Monday, August 26th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $143.62.

Insider Transactions at Agilent Technologies

In other Agilent Technologies 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 directly owns 40,011 shares in the company, valued at $5,801,595. The trade was a 19.98 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Agilent Technologies

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of A. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its holdings in Agilent Technologies by 5.7% during 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 buying an additional 809,149 shares during the period. FMR LLC lifted its stake in Agilent Technologies by 62.2% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,287,665 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $191,193,000 after acquiring an additional 493,947 shares in the last quarter. Worldquant Millennium Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Agilent Technologies in the third quarter valued at approximately $49,449,000. Marshall Wace LLP increased its position in shares of Agilent Technologies by 48.6% during the second quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 957,128 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $124,073,000 after acquiring an additional 313,155 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Jennison Associates LLC lifted its holdings 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 acquiring an additional 227,431 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.42% of the company’s stock.

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.