Spire Wealth Management Sells 10,075 Shares of Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A)

Spire Wealth Management cut its holdings in shares of Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A - Free Report) by 75.2% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 3,323 shares of the medical research company's stock after selling 10,075 shares during the period. Spire Wealth Management's holdings in Agilent Technologies were worth $446,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its holdings in shares of Agilent Technologies by 3.5% in the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 15,589,874 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $2,314,784,000 after purchasing an additional 525,214 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Agilent Technologies by 1.2% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 12,819,897 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $1,903,498,000 after purchasing an additional 158,175 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Agilent Technologies by 0.4% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 6,948,679 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $1,028,241,000 after purchasing an additional 30,610 shares in the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB lifted its holdings in shares of Agilent Technologies by 2.6% in the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 3,198,715 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $431,603,000 after purchasing an additional 80,819 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Van ECK Associates Corp lifted its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 183,716 shares in the last quarter.

Agilent Technologies Stock Performance

Shares of Agilent Technologies stock traded down $2.44 on Friday, hitting $145.21. The stock had a trading volume of 1,557,765 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,732,627. Agilent Technologies, Inc. has a twelve month low of $124.16 and a twelve month high of $155.35. The business's 50 day moving average is $141.59 and its two-hundred day moving average is $139.34. 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 stock has a market cap of $41.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.85, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.00 and a beta of 1.07.

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

Agilent Technologies Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 22nd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st were paid a dividend of $0.248 per share. The ex-dividend date 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 yield of 0.68%. Agilent Technologies's dividend payout ratio is presently 22.40%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts recently issued reports on A shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on Agilent Technologies from $165.00 to $160.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, November 26th. Citigroup upped their target price on Agilent Technologies to $165.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, December 19th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on Agilent Technologies from $157.00 to $155.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, December 9th. Barclays dropped their target price on Agilent Technologies from $145.00 to $135.00 and set an "underweight" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, November 27th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein lowered their price target on Agilent Technologies from $140.00 to $135.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, November 26th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus 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.