Royal London Asset Management Ltd. Cuts Stock Holdings in Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A)

Royal London Asset Management Ltd. trimmed its holdings in Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A - Free Report) by 26.6% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 499,946 shares of the medical research company's stock after selling 181,308 shares during the period. Royal London Asset Management Ltd. owned 0.17% of Agilent Technologies worth $74,114,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in A. Crewe Advisors LLC raised its stake in Agilent Technologies by 114.8% during the 2nd quarter. Crewe Advisors LLC now owns 189 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 101 shares during the last quarter. Livelsberger Financial Advisory acquired a new position in shares of Agilent Technologies in the 3rd quarter valued at $28,000. Ridgewood Investments LLC acquired a new position in shares of Agilent Technologies in the 2nd quarter valued at $29,000. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC acquired a new position in shares of Agilent Technologies in the 3rd quarter valued at $31,000. Finally, Fortitude Family Office LLC raised its stake in shares of 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 buying an additional 95 shares in the last quarter.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP Dominique Grau sold 9,990 shares of Agilent Technologies stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $145.00, for a total value of $1,448,550.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 40,011 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,801,595. This trade represents a 19.98 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink.

Agilent Technologies Price Performance

Shares of A stock traded down $2.01 on Thursday, reaching $138.19. The company had a trading volume of 476,138 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,723,662. The stock has a market capitalization of $39.71 billion, a PE ratio of 31.72, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.42 and a beta of 1.07. The company has a quick ratio of 1.58, a current ratio of 2.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57. Agilent Technologies, Inc. has a one year low of $124.16 and a one year high of $155.35. The business's 50-day moving average is $137.56 and its 200 day moving average is $136.97.

Agilent Technologies (NYSE:A - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, November 25th. The medical research company reported $1.46 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.41 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $1.70 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.67 billion. Agilent Technologies had a net margin of 19.80% and a return on equity of 25.43%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up .8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.38 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that Agilent Technologies, Inc. will post 5.56 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Agilent Technologies Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 22nd. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 31st will be issued a $0.248 dividend. This is a boost from Agilent Technologies's previous quarterly dividend of $0.24. This represents a $0.99 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.72%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 31st. Agilent Technologies's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 21.27%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on A. Bank of America increased their price objective on shares of Agilent Technologies from $140.00 to $147.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, August 22nd. Citigroup increased their target price on shares of Agilent Technologies from $150.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, August 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company assumed coverage on shares of Agilent Technologies in a research report on Tuesday, August 27th. They set an "overweight" rating and a $157.00 target price for the company. Barclays dropped their target price on shares of Agilent Technologies from $145.00 to $135.00 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, November 27th. Finally, Evercore ISI increased their price objective on shares of Agilent Technologies from $135.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock an "in-line" rating in a report on Tuesday, October 1st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $143.40.

Agilent Technologies Company 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.