Agilent Technologies (NYSE:A) Issues FY24 Earnings Guidance

Agilent Technologies (NYSE:A) issued an update on its FY24 earnings guidance on Monday morning. The company provided earnings per share guidance of $5.44-5.55 for the period, compared to the consensus earnings per share estimate of $5.64. The company issued revenue guidance of $6.71-6.81 billion, compared to the consensus revenue estimate of $6.99 billion. Agilent Technologies also updated its Q1 guidance to $1.20-1.23 EPS.

Agilent Technologies Price Performance

A traded up $0.83 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $113.98. The stock had a trading volume of 2,916,506 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,824,097. Agilent Technologies has a 1 year low of $96.80 and a 1 year high of $160.26. The company has a market cap of $33.35 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.62, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.01 and a beta of 1.04. The business has a fifty day moving average of $109.96 and a 200 day moving average of $117.80. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49, a quick ratio of 1.68 and a current ratio of 2.29.

Agilent Technologies Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 24th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, January 2nd will be given a dividend of $0.236 per share. This represents a $0.94 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.83%. This is a positive change from Agilent Technologies’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.23. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 29th. Agilent Technologies’s dividend payout ratio is presently 24.61%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently commented on A shares. Sanford C. Bernstein assumed coverage on shares of Agilent Technologies in a research note on Thursday, September 28th. They issued a market perform rating and a $123.00 target price on the stock. Evercore ISI dropped their price target on Agilent Technologies from $124.00 to $120.00 and set an in-line rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, August 16th. StockNews.com assumed coverage on shares of Agilent Technologies in a research note on Thursday, October 5th. They set a buy rating for the company. Credit Suisse Group cut their target price on Agilent Technologies from $160.00 to $150.00 and set an outperform rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, August 16th. Finally, Robert W. Baird decreased their price target on Agilent Technologies from $144.00 to $140.00 and set an outperform rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, August 16th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $143.94.

Insider Buying and Selling at Agilent Technologies

In related news, VP Rodney Gonsalves sold 3,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $118.78, for a total value of $415,730.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 24,219 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,876,732.82. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 0.31% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Agilent Technologies

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in Agilent Technologies by 1.1% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 24,531,170 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $3,246,209,000 after purchasing an additional 261,435 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Agilent Technologies by 2.0% in the first quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 6,203,779 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $856,310,000 after buying an additional 122,329 shares in the last quarter. Morgan Stanley boosted its position in shares of Agilent Technologies by 79.4% during the fourth quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 4,145,767 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $620,414,000 after acquiring an additional 1,835,413 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its stake in Agilent Technologies by 16.2% during the first quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 2,769,368 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $383,114,000 after acquiring an additional 386,125 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank bought a new stake in Agilent Technologies in the 4th quarter valued at $393,291,000. 85.42% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Agilent Technologies

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.