Agilent Technologies (NYSE:A) Issues Q1 Earnings Guidance

Agilent Technologies (NYSE:A) updated its first quarter earnings guidance on Monday. 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.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A has been the topic of several analyst reports. Barclays cut their price target on shares of Agilent Technologies from $110.00 to $105.00 and set an underweight rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, September 29th. Robert W. Baird dropped their target price on shares of Agilent Technologies from $144.00 to $140.00 and set an outperform rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, August 16th. Sanford C. Bernstein began coverage on Agilent Technologies in a report on Thursday, September 28th. They set a market perform rating and a $123.00 price target for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on Agilent Technologies from $155.00 to $150.00 and set an overweight rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, August 16th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reduced their target price on Agilent Technologies from $150.00 to $146.00 and set a buy 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 given a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $143.94.

Agilent Technologies Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:A traded up $0.83 on Monday, reaching $113.98. 2,949,629 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,824,097. Agilent Technologies has a twelve month low of $96.80 and a twelve month high of $160.26. The company has a fifty day moving average of $109.96 and a 200-day moving average of $117.80. The company has a market capitalization of $33.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.62, a PEG 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.

Agilent Technologies Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 24th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, January 2nd will be paid a dividend of $0.236 per share. This represents a $0.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.83%. This is an increase 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%.

Insider Activity at Agilent Technologies

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Money Concepts Capital Corp bought a new position in shares of Agilent Technologies in the 4th quarter worth about $26,000. Ancora Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Agilent Technologies during the fourth quarter worth approximately $34,000. Resurgent Financial Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Agilent Technologies in the 4th quarter worth $57,000. Altshuler Shaham Ltd raised its holdings in Agilent Technologies by 94.6% during the fourth quarter. Altshuler Shaham Ltd now owns 395 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $59,000 after buying an additional 192 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Milestone Investment Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Agilent Technologies in the first quarter valued at $61,000. 85.42% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.