Wells Fargo & Company MN trimmed its position in shares of Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A - Free Report) by 19.5% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 432,679 shares of the medical research company's stock after selling 104,785 shares during the period. Wells Fargo & Company MN owned approximately 0.15% of Agilent Technologies worth $58,126,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.
A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of A. Arete Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Agilent Technologies during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $215,000. National Bank of Canada FI boosted its holdings in Agilent Technologies by 84.5% in the third quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 149,128 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $22,143,000 after purchasing an additional 68,298 shares during the period. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC grew its stake in Agilent Technologies by 9.0% during the 3rd quarter. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC now owns 8,513 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $1,264,000 after purchasing an additional 704 shares in the last quarter. MML Investors Services LLC grew its stake in Agilent Technologies by 3.2% during the 3rd quarter. MML Investors Services LLC now owns 43,205 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $6,415,000 after purchasing an additional 1,337 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd increased its holdings in Agilent Technologies by 82.3% during the 3rd quarter. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd now owns 9,986 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $1,483,000 after purchasing an additional 4,507 shares during the period. 87.42% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.
Analyst Ratings Changes
A has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. StockNews.com upgraded Agilent Technologies from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, December 24th. 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. Robert W. Baird lowered their price objective on shares of Agilent Technologies from $161.00 to $159.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. Barclays reduced their target price 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. Finally, Citigroup lifted their price target on Agilent Technologies to $165.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $146.25.
Check Out Our Latest Stock Analysis on A
Agilent Technologies Trading Up 2.2 %
Shares of A traded up $2.26 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $104.97. The company had a trading volume of 376,026 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,852,881. The stock has a market cap of $29.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.13, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 1.19. The company has a current ratio of 2.20, a quick ratio of 1.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $123.76 and a 200-day simple moving average of $133.84. Agilent Technologies, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $96.43 and a fifty-two week high of $155.35.
Agilent Technologies (NYSE:A - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 26th. The medical research company reported $1.31 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 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 5.55 EPS for the current fiscal year.
Agilent Technologies Dividend Announcement
The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 23rd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, April 1st will be given a $0.248 dividend. This represents a $0.99 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.95%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 1st. Agilent Technologies's payout ratio is 22.76%.
Insider Activity at Agilent Technologies
In related news, VP Rodney Gonsalves sold 1,908 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $121.98, for a total transaction of $232,737.84. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 21,786 shares in the company, valued at $2,657,456.28. This represents a 8.05 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, 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 of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,947,800. The trade was a 4.60 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 5,638 shares of company stock worth $731,229. 0.26% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.
Agilent Technologies Profile
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Free Report)
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.
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