Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A) Shares Sold by JPMorgan Chase & Co.

JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased its position in shares of Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A - Free Report) by 10.8% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 1,815,567 shares of the medical research company's stock after selling 219,266 shares during the quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. owned approximately 0.63% of Agilent Technologies worth $269,575,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Livelsberger Financial Advisory acquired a new stake in Agilent Technologies during the 3rd quarter worth $28,000. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC purchased a new position in shares of Agilent Technologies during the third quarter worth about $31,000. Fortitude Family Office LLC increased its position in 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 acquiring an additional 95 shares during the period. RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC purchased a new stake in Agilent Technologies during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $38,000. Finally, Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in Agilent Technologies during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $39,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.42% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Bank of America cut their price objective on shares of Agilent Technologies from $153.00 to $150.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, December 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on shares of Agilent Technologies from $165.00 to $160.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, November 26th. Citigroup boosted their target price on Agilent Technologies to $165.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on Agilent Technologies from $157.00 to $155.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Monday, December 9th. Finally, Evercore ISI upped their price objective on Agilent Technologies from $135.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock an "in-line" rating in a report on Tuesday, October 1st. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $143.62.

Agilent Technologies Trading Down 0.1 %

Shares of Agilent Technologies stock traded down $0.08 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $134.34. 719,606 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,713,347. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $135.30 and a 200 day simple moving average of $136.65. The company has a current ratio of 2.09, a quick ratio of 1.58 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57. The stock has a market capitalization of $38.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.39, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.48 and a beta of 1.07. Agilent Technologies, Inc. has a twelve month low of $124.16 and a twelve month high of $155.35.

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

Agilent Technologies Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 22nd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st will be issued a $0.248 dividend. This represents a $0.99 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.74%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, December 31st. This is a positive change from Agilent Technologies's previous quarterly dividend of $0.24. Agilent Technologies's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 22.40%.

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.