Pacer Advisors Inc. Sells 5,422 Shares of Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A)

Pacer Advisors Inc. lowered its position in Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A - Free Report) by 16.5% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 27,484 shares of the medical research company's stock after selling 5,422 shares during the quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc.'s holdings in Agilent Technologies were worth $3,692,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Van ECK Associates Corp lifted its stake in shares of Agilent Technologies by 6.6% in the third quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 2,976,905 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $442,011,000 after buying an additional 183,716 shares during the period. Vestal Point Capital LP bought a new stake in shares of Agilent Technologies in the third quarter valued at about $14,848,000. Empowered Funds LLC lifted its stake in shares of Agilent Technologies by 29.8% in the third quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 30,978 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $4,592,000 after buying an additional 7,111 shares during the period. S.E.E.D. Planning Group LLC lifted its stake in shares of Agilent Technologies by 12.7% in the fourth quarter. S.E.E.D. Planning Group LLC now owns 42,587 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $5,721,000 after buying an additional 4,805 shares during the period. Finally, Czech National Bank lifted its stake in shares of Agilent Technologies by 6.5% in the third quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 59,456 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $8,828,000 after buying an additional 3,612 shares during the period.

Insider Transactions at Agilent Technologies

In related news, CEO Padraig Mcdonnell sold 1,911 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $150.00, for a total transaction of $286,650.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 39,652 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,947,800. This trade represents a 4.60 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link.

Agilent Technologies Stock Performance

Shares of A stock traded down $2.83 on Monday, reaching $148.69. The stock had a trading volume of 1,637,927 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,754,650. The company has a quick ratio of 1.58, a current ratio of 2.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57. The firm's 50-day moving average is $140.52 and its two-hundred day moving average is $138.85. The firm has a market capitalization of $42.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.64, a P/E/G ratio of 4.10 and a beta of 1.07. Agilent Technologies, Inc. has a 12 month low of $124.16 and a 12 month high of $155.35.

Agilent Technologies (NYSE:A - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, November 25th. The medical research company reported $1.46 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.41 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $1.70 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.67 billion. Agilent Technologies had a net margin of 19.80% and a return on equity of 25.43%. The business's revenue was up .8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.38 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that Agilent Technologies, Inc. will post 5.56 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Agilent Technologies Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 22nd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st were issued a dividend of $0.248 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, December 31st. This is a boost from Agilent Technologies's previous quarterly dividend of $0.24. This represents a $0.99 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.67%. Agilent Technologies's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 22.40%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have commented on A. Bank of America cut their price target on shares of Agilent Technologies from $153.00 to $150.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Barclays cut their price target on shares of Agilent Technologies from $145.00 to $135.00 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, November 27th. StockNews.com raised shares of Agilent Technologies from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, December 24th. Sanford C. Bernstein dropped their price objective on shares of Agilent Technologies from $140.00 to $135.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, November 26th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on shares of Agilent Technologies from $165.00 to $160.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, November 26th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Agilent Technologies has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $143.62.

Agilent Technologies Company 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.