B.O.S.S. Retirement Advisors LLC Reduces Stock Holdings in Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A)

B.O.S.S. Retirement Advisors LLC reduced its position in shares of Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A - Free Report) by 58.1% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 12,238 shares of the medical research company's stock after selling 16,935 shares during the period. B.O.S.S. Retirement Advisors LLC's holdings in Agilent Technologies were worth $1,817,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of A. Sumitomo Life Insurance Co. lifted its holdings in Agilent Technologies by 2.8% in the third quarter. Sumitomo Life Insurance Co. now owns 6,351 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $943,000 after buying an additional 171 shares during the period. Keystone Wealth Services LLC purchased a new stake in Agilent Technologies in the third quarter worth about $285,000. Occidental Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in Agilent Technologies by 3.9% in the third quarter. Occidental Asset Management LLC now owns 21,214 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $3,150,000 after buying an additional 800 shares during the period. Creative Planning lifted its holdings in Agilent Technologies by 5.9% in the third quarter. Creative Planning now owns 44,910 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $6,668,000 after buying an additional 2,498 shares during the period. Finally, Wesbanco Bank Inc. lifted its holdings in Agilent Technologies by 8.4% in the third quarter. Wesbanco Bank Inc. now owns 2,455 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $365,000 after buying an additional 190 shares during the period. 87.42% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Agilent Technologies 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 sale, the senior vice president now owns 40,011 shares in the company, valued at $5,801,595. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, CEO Padraig Mcdonnell sold 1,958 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $140.00, for a total transaction of $274,120.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 26,076 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,650,640. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, SVP Dominique Grau sold 9,990 shares of the 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 sale, the senior vice president now owns 40,011 shares in the company, valued at $5,801,595. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 13,953 shares of company stock worth $2,013,630 in the last 90 days. 0.33% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have commented on the stock. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Agilent Technologies from $135.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a report on Tuesday. TD Cowen raised 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. Citigroup raised their target price on shares of Agilent Technologies from $150.00 to $165.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, August 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company started coverage on shares of Agilent Technologies in a research note on Tuesday, August 27th. They set an "overweight" rating and a $157.00 target price for the company. Finally, Evercore ISI raised their target price on shares of Agilent Technologies from $135.00 to $145.00 and gave the company an "in-line" rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 1st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $144.36.

Agilent Technologies Stock Performance

Shares of Agilent Technologies stock traded down $1.69 on Thursday, hitting $137.42. 1,592,882 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,692,041. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $140.98 and a 200-day simple moving average of $138.85. The stock has a market capitalization of $40.09 billion, a PE ratio of 32.49, a PEG ratio of 6.96 and a beta of 1.05. Agilent Technologies, Inc. has a 1 year low of $96.80 and a 1 year 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.

Agilent Technologies (NYSE:A - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results 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. Agilent Technologies had a net margin of 21.75% and a return on equity of 25.26%. The company had revenue of $1.58 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.56 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.43 EPS. Agilent Technologies's revenue for the quarter was down 5.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Agilent Technologies, Inc. will post 5.24 EPS for the current year.

Agilent Technologies Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 23rd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, October 1st will be paid a $0.236 dividend. This represents a $0.94 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.69%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, October 1st. Agilent Technologies's payout ratio is currently 22.22%.

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.