Quintet Private Bank Europe S.A. Sells 42,245 Shares of Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A)

Quintet Private Bank Europe S.A. trimmed its holdings in Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A - Free Report) by 23.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 138,778 shares of the medical research company's stock after selling 42,245 shares during the quarter. Agilent Technologies accounts for about 1.0% of Quintet Private Bank Europe S.A.'s holdings, making the stock its 29th biggest holding. Quintet Private Bank Europe S.A.'s holdings in Agilent Technologies were worth $18,643,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. CKW Financial Group raised its holdings in Agilent Technologies by 114.9% during the 4th quarter. CKW Financial Group now owns 187 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. Global X Japan Co. Ltd. raised its holdings in Agilent Technologies by 161.1% during the 4th quarter. Global X Japan Co. Ltd. now owns 188 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 116 shares during the last quarter. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC bought a new stake in Agilent Technologies during the 3rd quarter valued at $31,000. Hanson & Doremus Investment Management raised its holdings in Agilent Technologies by 66.5% during the 4th quarter. Hanson & Doremus Investment Management now owns 263 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $35,000 after buying an additional 105 shares during the last quarter. Finally, RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC bought a new stake in Agilent Technologies during the 3rd quarter valued at $38,000.

Remove Ads

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Padraig Mcdonnell sold 1,911 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated 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 of the company's stock, valued at $5,947,800. This trade represents a 4.60 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link.

Agilent Technologies Stock Up 0.1 %

A stock traded up $0.11 during trading on Thursday, hitting $126.62. 2,299,943 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,798,911. Agilent Technologies, Inc. has a 1 year low of $121.45 and a 1 year high of $155.35. The firm's 50 day moving average is $140.03 and its two-hundred day moving average is $138.87. The stock has a market cap of $36.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.11, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.45 and a beta of 1.11. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56, a current ratio of 2.20 and a quick ratio of 1.66.

Agilent Technologies (NYSE:A - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 26th. The medical research company reported $1.31 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.27 by $0.04. Agilent Technologies had a net margin of 19.27% and a return on equity of 25.56%. The company had revenue of $1.68 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.67 billion. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Agilent Technologies, Inc. will post 5.57 EPS for the current year.

Agilent Technologies Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 23rd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, April 1st will be issued a dividend of $0.248 per share. This represents a $0.99 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.78%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 1st. Agilent Technologies's payout ratio is presently 22.76%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A has been the subject of several research reports. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Agilent Technologies from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, December 24th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on shares of Agilent Technologies from $157.00 to $155.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Monday, December 9th. Bank of America decreased their price objective on shares of Agilent Technologies from $153.00 to $150.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Friday, December 13th. Barclays upgraded shares of Agilent Technologies from an "underweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $135.00 to $145.00 in a report on Monday, February 10th. Finally, Citigroup upped their price objective on shares of Agilent Technologies to $165.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, December 19th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $146.15.

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.