Osterweis Capital Management Inc. Sells 166,885 Shares of Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A)

Osterweis Capital Management Inc. decreased its holdings in Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A - Free Report) by 99.8% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 324 shares of the medical research company's stock after selling 166,885 shares during the period. Osterweis Capital Management Inc.'s holdings in Agilent Technologies were worth $44,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Flynn Zito Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Agilent Technologies by 3.8% during the fourth quarter. Flynn Zito Capital Management LLC now owns 1,871 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $251,000 after acquiring an additional 69 shares during the last quarter. IFP Advisors Inc lifted its stake in shares of Agilent Technologies by 17.7% in the fourth quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 458 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $62,000 after acquiring an additional 69 shares during the period. Tiemann Investment Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Agilent Technologies by 5.6% during the 4th quarter. Tiemann Investment Advisors LLC now owns 1,423 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $191,000 after purchasing an additional 75 shares during the last quarter. Rothschild Investment LLC boosted its stake in shares of Agilent Technologies by 19.2% in the 4th quarter. Rothschild Investment LLC now owns 491 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $66,000 after purchasing an additional 79 shares during the last quarter. Finally, CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC raised its stake in Agilent Technologies by 1.2% during the fourth quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 7,479 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $1,025,000 after buying an additional 87 shares during the last quarter.

Insider Activity at Agilent Technologies

In other news, VP Rodney Gonsalves sold 1,908 shares of Agilent Technologies stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $121.98, for a total transaction of $232,737.84. Following the completion of the sale, 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 legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Daniel K. Podolsky sold 1,819 shares of Agilent Technologies stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $116.46, for a total transaction of $211,840.74. Following the sale, the director now owns 35,737 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,161,931.02. The trade was a 4.84 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have weighed in on A. Barclays decreased their price target on shares of Agilent Technologies from $138.00 to $115.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 10th. TD Cowen upped their price target on Agilent Technologies to $135.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 10th. Robert W. Baird reduced their price objective on Agilent Technologies from $161.00 to $159.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. Jefferies Financial Group cut their target price on Agilent Technologies from $135.00 to $116.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a report on Monday. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Agilent Technologies from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 24th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Agilent Technologies has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $143.00.

Agilent Technologies Stock Performance

A stock traded up $3.54 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $103.80. The company had a trading volume of 755,522 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,856,914. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56, a quick ratio of 1.66 and a current ratio of 2.20. The firm has a market cap of $29.59 billion, a PE ratio of 23.83, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 1.19. Agilent Technologies, Inc. has a 12 month low of $96.43 and a 12 month high of $155.35. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $118.79 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $132.00.

Agilent Technologies (NYSE:A - Get Free Report) last released its 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. Agilent Technologies had a return on equity of 25.56% and a net margin of 19.27%. The business had revenue of $1.68 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.67 billion. On average, analysts forecast that Agilent Technologies, Inc. will post 5.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Agilent Technologies Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 23rd. Investors of record on Tuesday, April 1st will be paid a $0.248 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 1st. This represents a $0.99 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.96%. Agilent Technologies's dividend payout ratio is 22.76%.

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.