Barclays PLC Reduces Stake in Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A)

Barclays PLC reduced its holdings in Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A - Free Report) by 17.8% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 619,571 shares of the medical research company's stock after selling 134,166 shares during the quarter. Barclays PLC owned 0.22% of Agilent Technologies worth $83,232,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of A. Synovus Financial Corp raised its holdings in Agilent Technologies by 7.7% during the fourth quarter. Synovus Financial Corp now owns 1,934 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $260,000 after acquiring an additional 139 shares in the last quarter. Advisors Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Agilent Technologies by 0.6% during the 4th quarter. Advisors Capital Management LLC now owns 60,486 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $8,126,000 after purchasing an additional 333 shares in the last quarter. Sagespring Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Agilent Technologies in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $247,000. Townsquare Capital LLC grew its stake in shares of Agilent Technologies by 33.5% in the fourth quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC now owns 2,593 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $348,000 after buying an additional 651 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sterling Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Agilent Technologies by 51.9% during the fourth quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 17,097 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $2,297,000 after buying an additional 5,841 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 87.42% of the company's stock.

Agilent Technologies Trading Down 0.3 %

NYSE:A traded down $0.32 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $102.38. 1,769,911 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,856,940. The stock has a market capitalization of $29.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.54, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 1.19. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $119.55 and a 200 day simple moving average of $132.49. The company has a current ratio of 2.20, a quick ratio of 1.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56. Agilent Technologies, Inc. has a one year low of $96.43 and a one year high of $155.35.

Agilent Technologies (NYSE:A - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 26th. The medical research company reported $1.31 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.27 by $0.04. Agilent Technologies had a net margin of 19.27% and a return on equity of 25.56%. The business had revenue of $1.68 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.67 billion. Sell-side analysts expect that Agilent Technologies, Inc. will post 5.54 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Agilent Technologies Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 23rd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, April 1st will be paid a dividend of $0.248 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 1st. This represents a $0.99 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.97%. Agilent Technologies's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 22.76%.

Insider Activity at Agilent Technologies

In other Agilent Technologies news, VP Rodney Gonsalves sold 1,908 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, March 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $121.98, for a total value of $232,737.84. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 21,786 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,657,456.28. The trade was a 8.05 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Padraig Mcdonnell sold 1,911 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $150.00, for a total value of $286,650.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 39,652 shares of the company's stock, valued at $5,947,800. The trade was a 4.60 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 5,638 shares of company stock valued at $731,229. 0.26% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. TD Cowen upped their target price on shares of Agilent Technologies to $135.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, April 10th. Barclays cut their price objective on Agilent Technologies from $138.00 to $115.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 10th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on Agilent Technologies from $155.00 to $135.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday. StockNews.com raised Agilent Technologies from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, December 24th. Finally, Robert W. Baird decreased their price objective on shares of Agilent Technologies from $161.00 to $159.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 27th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $144.58.

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.