Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A) Shares Sold by Exchange Traded Concepts LLC

Exchange Traded Concepts LLC cut its holdings in Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A - Free Report) by 47.9% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 11,405 shares of the medical research company's stock after selling 10,469 shares during the period. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC's holdings in Agilent Technologies were worth $1,693,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Western Pacific Wealth Management LP increased its holdings in shares of Agilent Technologies by 18.9% in the first quarter. Western Pacific Wealth Management LP now owns 440 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $64,000 after purchasing an additional 70 shares during the last quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of Agilent Technologies by 2.5% in the first quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC now owns 2,963 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $431,000 after purchasing an additional 73 shares in the last quarter. Haverford Trust Co increased its position in Agilent Technologies by 1.7% in the first quarter. Haverford Trust Co now owns 4,423 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $644,000 after purchasing an additional 74 shares during the last quarter. Menard Financial Group LLC raised its stake in Agilent Technologies by 1.6% during the second quarter. Menard Financial Group LLC now owns 4,845 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $628,000 after purchasing an additional 77 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Salem Investment Counselors Inc. lifted its position in Agilent Technologies by 4.4% during the first quarter. Salem Investment Counselors Inc. now owns 2,259 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $329,000 after purchasing an additional 95 shares during the last quarter. 87.42% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on A shares. Bank of America lifted their target price on Agilent Technologies from $140.00 to $147.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, August 22nd. TD Cowen increased their target price on shares of Agilent Technologies from $153.00 to $160.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, August 22nd. Wolfe Research cut shares of Agilent Technologies from an "outperform" rating to a "peer perform" rating in a research note on Thursday, June 27th. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Agilent Technologies from $135.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, UBS Group boosted their target price on Agilent Technologies from $141.00 to $150.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, August 22nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Agilent Technologies currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $144.36.

Agilent Technologies Stock Performance

A stock traded down $5.48 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $139.10. The company had a trading volume of 1,702,003 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,692,536. The company has a market cap of $40.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.86, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.96 and a beta of 1.05. Agilent Technologies, Inc. has a twelve month low of $96.80 and a twelve month high of $155.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a quick ratio of 1.37 and a current ratio of 1.78. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $140.87 and a 200-day simple moving average of $138.86.

Agilent Technologies (NYSE:A - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 21st. The medical research company reported $1.32 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.26 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $1.58 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.56 billion. Agilent Technologies had a return on equity of 25.26% and a net margin of 21.75%. The company's revenue was down 5.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.43 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Agilent Technologies, Inc. will post 5.24 earnings per share for the current year.

Agilent Technologies Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 23rd. Investors of record on Tuesday, October 1st will be issued a dividend of $0.236 per share. This represents a $0.94 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.68%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, October 1st. Agilent Technologies's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 22.22%.

Insider Activity at Agilent Technologies

In related news, CEO Padraig Mcdonnell sold 1,958 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, July 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $140.00, for a total transaction of $274,120.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 26,076 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,650,640. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In related news, SVP Dominique Grau sold 9,990 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $145.00, for a total value of $1,448,550.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 40,011 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,801,595. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Padraig Mcdonnell sold 1,958 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, July 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $140.00, for a total transaction of $274,120.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 26,076 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,650,640. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 13,953 shares of company stock worth $2,013,630. 0.33% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Agilent Technologies 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.