Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A) Shares Sold by Hartford Investment Management Co.

Hartford Investment Management Co. lowered its stake in Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A) by 2.3% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 18,358 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 428 shares during the period. Hartford Investment Management Co.’s holdings in Agilent Technologies were worth $2,726,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Quantbot Technologies LP purchased a new stake in Agilent Technologies in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $938,000. Cetera Investment Advisers boosted its stake in shares of Agilent Technologies by 953.3% in the first quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 32,694 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $4,757,000 after buying an additional 29,590 shares in the last quarter. iA Global Asset Management Inc. grew its holdings in Agilent Technologies by 26.2% during the first quarter. iA Global Asset Management Inc. now owns 21,770 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $3,168,000 after acquiring an additional 4,523 shares during the period. Bayesian Capital Management LP purchased a new position in Agilent Technologies in the first quarter worth $1,355,000. Finally, Marshall Financial Group LLC acquired a new stake in Agilent Technologies in the second quarter valued at $1,058,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.42% of the company’s stock.

Agilent Technologies Price Performance

NYSE:A opened at $133.03 on Thursday. Agilent Technologies, Inc. has a 12-month low of $96.80 and a 12-month high of $155.35. The firm has a market cap of $38.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.45, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.96 and a beta of 1.05. The company’s 50-day moving average is $140.91 and its two-hundred day moving average is $138.59. The company has a current ratio of 1.78, a quick ratio of 1.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36.

Agilent Technologies (NYSE:A) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, August 21st. The medical research company reported $1.32 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.26 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $1.58 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.56 billion. Agilent Technologies had a net margin of 21.75% and a return on equity of 25.26%. Agilent Technologies’s revenue was down 5.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.43 earnings per share. Research analysts expect that Agilent Technologies, Inc. will post 5.24 EPS for the current year.

Agilent Technologies Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, October 23rd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, October 1st were given a $0.236 dividend. This represents a $0.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.71%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, October 1st. Agilent Technologies’s dividend payout ratio is currently 22.22%.

Insider Activity at Agilent Technologies

In other news, CEO Padraig Mcdonnell sold 1,958 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $145.00, for a total transaction of $283,910.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 24,118 shares in the company, valued at $3,497,110. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. In related news, SVP Dominique Grau sold 9,990 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $145.00, for a total transaction of $1,448,550.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 40,011 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,801,595. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Padraig Mcdonnell sold 1,958 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $145.00, for a total transaction of $283,910.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 24,118 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,497,110. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 13,953 shares of company stock worth $2,013,630. 0.33% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Citigroup upped their price target on shares of Agilent Technologies from $150.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 22nd. Bank of America increased their target price on shares of Agilent Technologies from $140.00 to $147.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, August 22nd. UBS Group boosted their price target on Agilent Technologies from $141.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 22nd. Evercore ISI raised their price objective on Agilent Technologies from $135.00 to $145.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 1st. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $151.00 target price on shares of Agilent Technologies in a research report on Monday, August 26th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $144.36.

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.