Blue Trust Inc. Has $219,000 Stake in Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A)

Blue Trust Inc. trimmed its position in shares of Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A - Free Report) by 53.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,632 shares of the medical research company's stock after selling 1,859 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc.'s holdings in Agilent Technologies were worth $219,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. CKW Financial Group grew its holdings in Agilent Technologies by 114.9% during the 4th quarter. CKW Financial Group now owns 187 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. Global X Japan Co. Ltd. lifted its position in shares of Agilent Technologies by 161.1% in the 4th quarter. Global X Japan Co. Ltd. now owns 188 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 116 shares during the last quarter. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC bought a new position in shares of Agilent Technologies in the 3rd quarter worth about $31,000. Fortitude Family Office LLC lifted its position 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 worth $35,000 after buying an additional 95 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Hanson & Doremus Investment Management lifted its position in shares of Agilent Technologies by 66.5% in the 4th quarter. Hanson & Doremus Investment Management now owns 263 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $35,000 after buying an additional 105 shares during the last quarter. 87.42% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Agilent Technologies Trading Down 0.8 %

Shares of Agilent Technologies stock traded down $1.12 on Friday, hitting $135.67. The stock had a trading volume of 476,161 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,620,432. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $141.04 and a 200 day moving average of $139.28. Agilent Technologies, Inc. has a twelve month low of $124.16 and a twelve month high of $155.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57, a quick ratio of 1.58 and a current ratio of 2.09. The firm has a market capitalization of $38.71 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.69, a PEG ratio of 3.71 and a beta of 1.07.

Agilent Technologies (NYSE:A - Get Free Report) last announced its 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 for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.67 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.38 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was up .8% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts expect that Agilent Technologies, Inc. will post 5.56 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Agilent Technologies Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 23rd. Investors of record on Tuesday, April 1st will be issued a $0.248 dividend. This represents a $0.99 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.73%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 1st. Agilent Technologies's payout ratio is presently 22.40%.

Insider Activity at Agilent Technologies

In other Agilent Technologies news, CEO Padraig Mcdonnell sold 1,911 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $150.00, for a total transaction of $286,650.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 39,652 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,947,800. This represents a 4.60 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. 0.26% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages recently weighed in on A. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on shares of Agilent Technologies from $165.00 to $160.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, November 26th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on shares of Agilent Technologies from $157.00 to $155.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, December 9th. Barclays upgraded shares of Agilent Technologies from an "underweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $135.00 to $145.00 in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Citigroup lifted their price objective on shares of Agilent Technologies to $165.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Agilent Technologies from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 24th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $144.38.

About Agilent Technologies

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.