5,876 Shares in Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A) Purchased by Sheaff Brock Investment Advisors LLC

Sheaff Brock Investment Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund bought 5,876 shares of the medical research company's stock, valued at approximately $789,000.

Several other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. CKW Financial Group raised its stake in shares of Agilent Technologies by 114.9% during the 4th quarter. CKW Financial Group now owns 187 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. Global X Japan Co. Ltd. raised its stake in shares of 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 worth $25,000 after buying an additional 116 shares during the last quarter. Livelsberger Financial Advisory acquired a new position in shares of Agilent Technologies during the 3rd quarter worth $28,000. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC acquired a new position in shares of Agilent Technologies during the 3rd quarter worth $31,000. Finally, Fortitude Family Office LLC raised its stake in shares of Agilent Technologies by 68.3% during the 3rd quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 234 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $35,000 after buying an additional 95 shares during the last quarter.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on A shares. Barclays raised Agilent Technologies from an "underweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $135.00 to $145.00 in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Bank of America reduced their target price on shares of Agilent Technologies from $153.00 to $150.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, December 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on shares of Agilent Technologies from $165.00 to $160.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, November 26th. Sanford C. Bernstein reduced their target price on shares of Agilent Technologies from $140.00 to $135.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, November 26th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on shares of Agilent Technologies from $157.00 to $155.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, December 9th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Agilent Technologies currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $144.38.

Insider Buying and Selling at Agilent Technologies

In other news, CEO Padraig Mcdonnell sold 1,911 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $150.00, for a total transaction of $286,650.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 39,652 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,947,800. This trade represents a 4.60 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website.

Agilent Technologies Stock Down 0.3 %

NYSE:A traded down $0.41 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $136.74. The stock had a trading volume of 872,678 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,657,151. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $141.13 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $139.30. Agilent Technologies, Inc. has a 1-year low of $124.16 and a 1-year high of $155.35. The company has a market cap of $39.01 billion, a PE ratio of 30.94, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.66 and a beta of 1.07. The company has a current ratio of 2.09, a quick ratio of 1.58 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57.

Agilent Technologies (NYSE:A - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, November 25th. The medical research company reported $1.46 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 return on equity of 25.43% and a net margin of 19.80%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up .8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.38 earnings per share. Analysts predict that Agilent Technologies, Inc. will post 5.56 EPS for the current year.

Agilent Technologies Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 23rd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, April 1st will be paid a $0.248 dividend. This represents a $0.99 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.73%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 1st. Agilent Technologies's payout ratio is 22.40%.

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.