Agilent Technologies (NYSE:A) Posts Quarterly Earnings Results, Beats Expectations By $0.01 EPS

Agilent Technologies (NYSE:A – Get Rating) issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday. The medical research company reported $1.13 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.12 by $0.01, MarketWatch Earnings reports. The business had revenue of $1.61 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.62 billion. Agilent Technologies had a net margin of 18.70% and a return on equity of 27.04%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 5.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.97 EPS.

Agilent Technologies stock opened at $120.38 on Thursday. Agilent Technologies has a fifty-two week low of $112.64 and a fifty-two week high of $179.57. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53, a quick ratio of 1.64 and a current ratio of 2.19. The stock has a market cap of $36.16 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.55, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.80 and a beta of 1.06. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $126.88 and its 200-day moving average price is $139.14.

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 27th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, July 5th will be given a dividend of $0.21 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, July 1st. This represents a $0.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.70%. Agilent Technologies’s payout ratio is presently 21.32%.

A has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Bank of America lowered their price objective on Agilent Technologies from $179.00 to $160.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 23rd. Robert W. Baird lifted their price objective on shares of Agilent Technologies from $155.00 to $161.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Evercore ISI cut their target price on shares of Agilent Technologies from $170.00 to $155.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 23rd. Cowen reduced their target price on Agilent Technologies from $187.00 to $178.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 23rd. Finally, Citigroup dropped their price target on Agilent Technologies from $190.00 to $175.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 23rd. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Agilent Technologies presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $163.08.

In other news, SVP Michael Tang sold 1,210 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $136.21, for a total transaction of $164,814.10. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website.

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Ironwood Wealth Management LLC. grew its holdings in Agilent Technologies by 142.5% in the second quarter. Ironwood Wealth Management LLC. now owns 485 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $72,000 after purchasing an additional 285 shares during the period. Morgan Stanley increased its holdings in shares of Agilent Technologies by 2.9% during the second quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 1,154,775 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $170,688,000 after acquiring an additional 33,059 shares in the last quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Agilent Technologies in the 4th quarter worth about $245,000. Stifel Financial Corp increased its stake in Agilent Technologies by 2.2% during the 4th quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 28,936 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $4,619,000 after purchasing an additional 632 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Advisors Asset Management Inc. purchased a new position in Agilent Technologies in the fourth quarter worth about $240,000.

About Agilent Technologies (Get Rating)

Agilent Technologies, Inc provides application focused solutions to the life sciences, diagnostics, and applied chemical markets worldwide. 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; vacuum pumps, and measurement technologies.

Recommended Stories