Agilent Technologies (NYSE:A) Updates Q1 Earnings Guidance

Agilent Technologies (NYSE:A) issued an update on its first quarter earnings guidance on Monday morning. The company provided EPS guidance of $1.20-1.23 for the period, compared to the consensus EPS estimate of $1.34. The company issued revenue guidance of $1.555-1.605 billion, compared to the consensus revenue estimate of $1.67 billion. Agilent Technologies also updated its FY24 guidance to $5.44-5.55 EPS.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on A shares. TD Cowen boosted their price objective on shares of Agilent Technologies from $145.00 to $147.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a report on Wednesday, August 16th. Credit Suisse Group lowered their price target on Agilent Technologies from $160.00 to $150.00 and set an outperform rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, August 16th. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their target price on Agilent Technologies from $150.00 to $146.00 and set a buy rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, August 16th. UBS Group cut shares of Agilent Technologies from a buy rating to a neutral rating and lowered their target price for the company from $163.00 to $125.00 in a research note on Friday. Finally, Barclays decreased their price objective on shares of Agilent Technologies from $110.00 to $105.00 and set an underweight rating for the company in a report on Friday, September 29th. One 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’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Agilent Technologies has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $143.94.

Agilent Technologies Price Performance

Shares of A traded up $0.83 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $113.98. 2,916,506 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,824,097. 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 company has a current ratio of 2.29, a quick ratio of 1.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $109.96 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $117.80. Agilent Technologies has a 52-week low of $96.80 and a 52-week high of $160.26.

Agilent Technologies Increases Dividend

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

Insider Activity at Agilent Technologies

In other news, VP Rodney Gonsalves sold 3,500 shares of Agilent Technologies stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 24,219 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,876,732.82. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 0.31% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in A. Creative Planning increased its position in Agilent Technologies by 5.0% during the 3rd quarter. Creative Planning now owns 33,720 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $3,771,000 after buying an additional 1,615 shares in the last quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC raised its position in shares of Agilent Technologies by 5.3% in the 3rd quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC now owns 4,411 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $493,000 after purchasing an additional 224 shares during the last quarter. Comerica Bank acquired a new stake in Agilent Technologies in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $2,857,000. Osaic Holdings Inc. grew its position in Agilent Technologies by 14.5% during the 2nd quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. now owns 54,613 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $6,565,000 after purchasing an additional 6,926 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC increased its stake in Agilent Technologies by 30.6% during the 2nd quarter. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC now owns 12,359 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $1,486,000 after purchasing an additional 2,894 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 85.42% 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 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.