Ashton Thomas Securities LLC Takes Position in Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A)

Ashton Thomas Securities LLC acquired a new position in Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A) during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 210 shares of the medical research company’s stock, valued at approximately $31,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Western Pacific Wealth Management LP lifted its stake in Agilent Technologies by 18.9% during the first quarter. Western Pacific Wealth Management LP now owns 440 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $64,000 after purchasing an additional 70 shares during the last quarter. Menard Financial Group LLC lifted its position in Agilent Technologies by 1.6% in the 2nd quarter. Menard Financial Group LLC now owns 4,845 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $628,000 after buying an additional 77 shares during the last quarter. McAdam LLC boosted its stake in Agilent Technologies by 3.1% in the third quarter. McAdam LLC now owns 2,531 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $376,000 after buying an additional 77 shares in the last quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of Agilent Technologies by 3.2% during the third quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 2,570 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $382,000 after acquiring an additional 79 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Rovin Capital UT ADV raised its stake in shares of Agilent Technologies by 1.6% during the third quarter. Rovin Capital UT ADV now owns 5,049 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $750,000 after acquiring an additional 81 shares in the last quarter. 87.42% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently commented on A shares. TD Cowen lifted their target price on shares of Agilent Technologies from $153.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 22nd. Citigroup lifted their price objective on Agilent Technologies from $150.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 22nd. Evercore ISI increased their target price on Agilent Technologies from $135.00 to $145.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 1st. Barclays lifted their price target on Agilent Technologies from $135.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 15th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company started coverage on Agilent Technologies in a research note on Tuesday, August 27th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $157.00 price objective for the company. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Agilent Technologies has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $144.36.

Agilent Technologies Price Performance

Shares of NYSE A opened at $130.22 on Friday. Agilent Technologies, Inc. has a 1 year low of $111.33 and a 1 year high of $155.35. The stock has a market capitalization of $37.42 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.02, a P/E/G ratio of 5.88 and a beta of 1.07. The company’s 50-day moving average is $139.09 and its 200 day moving average is $138.14. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a current ratio of 1.78 and a quick ratio of 1.37.

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

Agilent Technologies Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced 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 0.72%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, October 1st. Agilent Technologies’s dividend payout ratio is presently 19.50%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Agilent Technologies news, CEO Padraig Mcdonnell sold 1,958 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $145.00, for a total value of $283,910.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 24,118 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,497,110. The trade was a 7.51 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, SVP Dominique Grau sold 9,990 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $145.00, for a total value of $1,448,550.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 40,011 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,801,595. The trade was a 19.98 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 11,995 shares of company stock worth $1,739,510 in the last three months. 0.33% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.