Eastern Bank Makes New $15.82 Million Investment in Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A)

Eastern Bank acquired a new position in Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A - Free Report) during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm acquired 106,534 shares of the medical research company's stock, valued at approximately $15,818,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC increased its stake in Agilent Technologies by 9.5% during the third quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 31,234 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $4,638,000 after acquiring an additional 2,720 shares during the period. Community Financial Services Group LLC acquired a new stake in Agilent Technologies during the third quarter worth $206,000. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC increased its holdings in Agilent Technologies by 0.7% in the 3rd quarter. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC now owns 23,760 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $3,528,000 after buying an additional 155 shares during the period. Livelsberger Financial Advisory acquired a new position in shares of Agilent Technologies in the 3rd quarter valued at $28,000. Finally, Godsey & Gibb Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Agilent Technologies by 1.3% during the 3rd quarter. Godsey & Gibb Inc. now owns 133,612 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $19,839,000 after acquiring an additional 1,724 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 87.42% of the company's stock.

Agilent Technologies Stock Down 2.4 %

A stock traded down $3.30 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $133.46. 1,822,734 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,686,656. The firm's 50-day moving average is $141.05 and its 200-day moving average is $138.70. Agilent Technologies, Inc. has a 12 month low of $96.80 and a 12 month high of $155.35. The company has a market cap of $38.94 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.33, a PEG ratio of 6.96 and a beta of 1.05. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a current ratio of 1.78 and a quick ratio of 1.37.

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 (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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%. Agilent Technologies's revenue was down 5.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.43 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts expect that Agilent Technologies, Inc. will post 5.24 earnings per share for the current year.

Agilent Technologies Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 23rd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, October 1st will be given a dividend of $0.236 per share. This represents a $0.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.71%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, October 1st. Agilent Technologies's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 22.22%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Agilent Technologies

In other Agilent Technologies news, SVP Dominique Grau sold 9,990 shares of Agilent Technologies stock in a transaction 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 completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 40,011 shares of the company's stock, valued at $5,801,595. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In other news, CEO Padraig Mcdonnell sold 1,958 shares of the 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 in the company, valued at approximately $3,650,640. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, SVP Dominique Grau sold 9,990 shares of Agilent Technologies stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 26th. The stock was 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 directly owns 40,011 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,801,595. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 13,953 shares of company stock worth $2,013,630 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.33% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have weighed in on A shares. Wolfe Research cut Agilent Technologies from an "outperform" rating to a "peer perform" rating in a research report on Thursday, June 27th. Stifel Nicolaus reissued a "buy" rating and set a $151.00 price target on shares of Agilent Technologies in a report on Monday, August 26th. TD Cowen boosted their price target on shares of Agilent Technologies from $153.00 to $160.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, August 22nd. UBS Group lifted their target price on shares of Agilent Technologies from $141.00 to $150.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, August 22nd. Finally, Citigroup raised their price target on Agilent Technologies from $150.00 to $165.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, August 22nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $144.36.

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.