Franklin Resources Inc. Trims Position in Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A)

Franklin Resources Inc. trimmed its position in shares of Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A - Free Report) by 9.4% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,781,243 shares of the medical research company's stock after selling 183,875 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. owned about 0.62% of Agilent Technologies worth $256,943,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Crewe Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Agilent Technologies by 114.8% during the second quarter. Crewe Advisors LLC now owns 189 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 101 shares in the last quarter. Livelsberger Financial Advisory bought a new stake in Agilent Technologies during the 3rd quarter valued at $28,000. Ridgewood Investments LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Agilent Technologies in the 2nd quarter worth $29,000. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC bought a new position in shares of Agilent Technologies during the 3rd quarter worth $31,000. Finally, Fortitude Family Office LLC increased its stake in shares of Agilent Technologies by 68.3% during the third 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 during the period. 87.42% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Agilent Technologies Trading Down 1.4 %

NYSE:A traded down $1.91 on Friday, hitting $139.00. The stock had a trading volume of 1,474,294 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,722,025. The stock has a market cap of $39.94 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.45, a PEG ratio of 4.48 and a beta of 1.07. Agilent Technologies, Inc. has a 1-year low of $124.16 and a 1-year high of $155.35. The company has a quick ratio of 1.58, a current ratio of 2.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $136.75 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $136.44.

Agilent Technologies (NYSE:A - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Monday, November 25th. The medical research company reported $1.46 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.41 by $0.05. The company 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%. Agilent Technologies's revenue was up .8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.38 earnings per share. Equities research analysts expect that Agilent Technologies, Inc. will post 5.56 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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 represents a $0.99 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.71%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 31st. This is a boost from Agilent Technologies's previous quarterly dividend of $0.24. Agilent Technologies's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 22.40%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Agilent Technologies news, SVP Dominique Grau sold 9,990 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $145.00, for a total transaction of $1,448,550.00. Following 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 ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders own 0.33% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on Agilent Technologies from $165.00 to $160.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, November 26th. UBS Group boosted their price target on Agilent Technologies from $141.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, August 22nd. StockNews.com lowered shares of Agilent Technologies from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 26th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on shares of Agilent Technologies from $157.00 to $155.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Monday, December 9th. Finally, TD Cowen upped their target price on Agilent Technologies from $153.00 to $160.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, August 22nd. One 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 stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $143.62.

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.