3,604 Shares in Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A) Purchased by Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB

Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB acquired a new position in shares of Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A - Free Report) in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor acquired 3,604 shares of the medical research company's stock, valued at approximately $535,000.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Crewe Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Agilent Technologies by 114.8% during the second quarter. Crewe Advisors LLC now owns 189 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 101 shares in the last quarter. Livelsberger Financial Advisory purchased a new stake in shares of Agilent Technologies during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $28,000. Ridgewood Investments LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Agilent Technologies during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $29,000. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Agilent Technologies in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $31,000. Finally, Fortitude Family Office LLC increased its stake in Agilent Technologies by 68.3% in the 3rd quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 234 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 95 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.42% of the company's stock.

Agilent Technologies Trading Down 0.9 %

Shares of A traded down $1.32 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $137.68. The stock had a trading volume of 1,580,698 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,721,439. Agilent Technologies, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $124.16 and a fifty-two week high of $155.35. 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 firm has a market cap of $39.56 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.45, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.48 and a beta of 1.07. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $136.75 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $136.37.

Agilent Technologies (NYSE:A - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, November 25th. The medical research company reported $1.46 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.41 by $0.05. Agilent Technologies had a return on equity of 25.43% and a net margin of 19.80%. The business had revenue of $1.70 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.67 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.38 EPS. The firm's quarterly revenue was up .8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Agilent Technologies, Inc. will post 5.56 EPS for the current year.

Agilent Technologies Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 22nd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st will be paid a $0.248 dividend. This is a positive change from Agilent Technologies's previous quarterly dividend of $0.24. This represents a $0.99 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.72%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 31st. Agilent Technologies's dividend payout ratio is currently 22.40%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have issued reports on A. UBS Group lifted their target price on shares of Agilent Technologies from $141.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, August 22nd. Evercore ISI upped their target price on Agilent Technologies from $135.00 to $145.00 and gave the company an "in-line" rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on Agilent Technologies from $165.00 to $160.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, November 26th. Stifel Nicolaus reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $151.00 price target on shares of Agilent Technologies in a report on Monday, August 26th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein decreased their price objective on Agilent Technologies from $140.00 to $135.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, November 26th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $143.62.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, SVP Dominique Grau sold 9,990 shares of the company's stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the senior vice president now owns 40,011 shares of the company's stock, valued at $5,801,595. This represents a 19.98 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.33% of the company's stock.

Agilent Technologies 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.