Franklin Resources Inc. decreased its position in shares of Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A - Free Report) by 28.7% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,269,218 shares of the medical research company's stock after selling 512,025 shares during the quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. owned approximately 0.44% of Agilent Technologies worth $170,507,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.
Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Intech Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in Agilent Technologies during the third quarter worth $205,000. FMR LLC raised its position in shares of Agilent Technologies by 62.2% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,287,665 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $191,193,000 after acquiring an additional 493,947 shares in the last quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund purchased a new stake in shares of Agilent Technologies during the 3rd quarter worth $410,000. Public Sector Pension Investment Board boosted its position in Agilent Technologies by 12.4% during the third quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 12,672 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $1,882,000 after purchasing an additional 1,400 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Captrust Financial Advisors grew its stake in Agilent Technologies by 3.0% in the third quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 20,809 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $3,090,000 after purchasing an additional 604 shares during the last quarter.
Insiders Place Their Bets
In other Agilent Technologies news, VP Rodney Gonsalves sold 1,908 shares of the firm'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 in the company, valued at approximately $2,657,456.28. This trade represents a 8.05 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Daniel K. Podolsky sold 1,819 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, March 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $116.46, for a total transaction of $211,840.74. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 35,737 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,161,931.02. The trade was a 4.84 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 5,638 shares of company stock worth $731,229.
Analysts Set New Price Targets
A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Robert W. Baird cut their price objective on shares of Agilent Technologies from $161.00 to $159.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. Citigroup lifted their price target on shares of Agilent Technologies to $165.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, December 19th. Bank of America decreased their price objective on Agilent Technologies from $153.00 to $150.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Friday, December 13th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on Agilent Technologies from $157.00 to $155.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, December 9th. Finally, Barclays raised Agilent Technologies from an "underweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and raised their price target for the stock from $135.00 to $145.00 in a report on Monday, February 10th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $150.83.
View Our Latest Stock Analysis on A
Agilent Technologies Price Performance
Shares of A stock traded down $6.70 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $102.97. 3,826,290 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,798,069. Agilent Technologies, Inc. has a 52-week low of $102.85 and a 52-week high of $155.35. The company has a quick ratio of 1.66, a current ratio of 2.20 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56. The company has a market cap of $29.36 billion, a PE ratio of 23.67, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 1.19. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $130.34 and a 200 day moving average of $135.73.
Agilent Technologies (NYSE:A - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 26th. The medical research company reported $1.31 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.27 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $1.68 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.67 billion. Agilent Technologies had a return on equity of 25.56% and a net margin of 19.27%. Research analysts anticipate that Agilent Technologies, Inc. will post 5.57 earnings per share for the current year.
Agilent Technologies Announces Dividend
The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 23rd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, April 1st will be given a dividend of $0.248 per share. This represents a $0.99 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.96%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 1st. Agilent Technologies's dividend payout ratio is presently 22.76%.
About Agilent Technologies
(
Free Report)
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.
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