Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A) Stock Position Lowered by Knowledge Leaders Capital LLC

Knowledge Leaders Capital LLC lowered its stake in Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A) by 3.1% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 12,374 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 398 shares during the period. Agilent Technologies makes up approximately 2.7% of Knowledge Leaders Capital LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 7th largest holding. Knowledge Leaders Capital LLC’s holdings in Agilent Technologies were worth $1,720,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. OFI Invest Asset Management purchased a new position in Agilent Technologies during the 3rd quarter valued at about $25,000. MV Capital Management Inc. increased its holdings in Agilent Technologies by 120.7% during the 4th quarter. MV Capital Management Inc. now owns 192 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 105 shares during the period. Baystate Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in Agilent Technologies by 107.3% during the 4th quarter. Baystate Wealth Management LLC now owns 257 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 133 shares during the period. Column Capital Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Agilent Technologies by 1,111.1% during the 3rd quarter. Column Capital Advisors LLC now owns 327 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $37,000 after purchasing an additional 300 shares during the period. Finally, Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton increased its holdings in Agilent Technologies by 51.1% during the 4th quarter. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton now owns 284 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $39,000 after purchasing an additional 96 shares during the period.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Evercore ISI boosted their price target on Agilent Technologies from $132.00 to $145.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a report on Thursday, April 4th. UBS Group lifted their price objective on Agilent Technologies from $130.00 to $155.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 28th. Oppenheimer lifted their price objective on Agilent Technologies from $67.00 to $90.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 26th. Stifel Nicolaus raised Agilent Technologies from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $145.00 to $163.00 in a research report on Friday, April 5th. Finally, Citigroup boosted their price target on Agilent Technologies from $130.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 28th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $141.29.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Michael R. Mcmullen sold 52,297 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $150.00, for a total value of $7,844,550.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 253,909 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $38,086,350. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other Agilent Technologies news, CEO Michael R. Mcmullen sold 52,297 shares of Agilent Technologies stock in a transaction on Friday, March 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $150.00, for a total transaction of $7,844,550.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 253,909 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $38,086,350. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Heidi Fields sold 1,658 shares of Agilent Technologies stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $144.34, for a total transaction of $239,315.72. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 54,976 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,935,235.84. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 61,610 shares of company stock worth $9,220,333 over the last quarter.

Agilent Technologies Stock Performance

NYSE A traded up $1.37 on Friday, reaching $137.74. 754,945 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,245,651. Agilent Technologies, Inc. has a one year low of $96.80 and a one year high of $151.58. The firm has a market capitalization of $40.36 billion, a PE ratio of 32.78, a PEG ratio of 4.13 and a beta of 1.11. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $141.59 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $130.56. The company has a current ratio of 2.68, a quick ratio of 2.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41.

Agilent Technologies (NYSE:A) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 27th. The medical research company reported $1.29 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.22 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $1.66 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.59 billion. Agilent Technologies had a net margin of 18.35% and a return on equity of 27.09%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 5.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.37 earnings per share. Analysts expect that Agilent Technologies, Inc. will post 5.5 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Agilent Technologies Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 24th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, April 2nd were given a dividend of $0.236 per share. This represents a $0.94 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.69%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, April 1st. Agilent Technologies’s payout ratio is currently 22.38%.

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.