Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A) Shares Sold by Amalgamated Bank

Amalgamated Bank lessened its stake in Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A) by 9.7% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 55,107 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 5,953 shares during the period. Amalgamated Bank’s holdings in Agilent Technologies were worth $7,403,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Van ECK Associates Corp grew its position in shares of Agilent Technologies by 6.6% during the 3rd quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 2,976,905 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $442,011,000 after acquiring an additional 183,716 shares during the period. Vestal Point Capital LP purchased a new position in Agilent Technologies during the third quarter worth approximately $14,848,000. Empowered Funds LLC grew its holdings in Agilent Technologies by 29.8% in the third quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 30,978 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $4,592,000 after purchasing an additional 7,111 shares during the period. S.E.E.D. Planning Group LLC increased its position in shares of Agilent Technologies by 12.7% in the fourth quarter. S.E.E.D. Planning Group LLC now owns 42,587 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $5,721,000 after buying an additional 4,805 shares in the last quarter. Finally, National Pension Service raised its stake in shares of Agilent Technologies by 10.8% during the 3rd quarter. National Pension Service now owns 702,631 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $104,327,000 after buying an additional 68,670 shares during the period.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Barclays raised shares of Agilent Technologies from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $135.00 to $145.00 in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Sanford C. Bernstein dropped their target price on shares of 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. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on shares of Agilent Technologies from $157.00 to $155.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, December 9th. StockNews.com upgraded Agilent Technologies from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 24th. Finally, Bank of America cut their price objective on Agilent Technologies from $153.00 to $150.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $144.38.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

Agilent Technologies Trading Up 0.2 %

Shares of Agilent Technologies stock opened at $134.51 on Thursday. Agilent Technologies, Inc. has a 1-year low of $124.16 and a 1-year high of $155.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57, a current ratio of 2.09 and a quick ratio of 1.58. The stock has a market cap of $38.37 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.43, a P/E/G ratio of 3.66 and a beta of 1.07. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $140.90 and its 200-day simple moving average is $139.28.

Agilent Technologies (NYSE:A) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 26th. The medical research company reported $1.31 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.27 by $0.04. Agilent Technologies had a return on equity of 25.43% and a net margin of 19.80%. The company had revenue of $1.68 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.67 billion. Analysts predict that Agilent Technologies, Inc. will post 5.56 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Agilent Technologies Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 23rd. Investors of record on Tuesday, April 1st will be given a dividend of $0.248 per share. This represents a $0.99 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.74%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 1st. Agilent Technologies’s payout ratio is currently 22.40%.

Agilent Technologies 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.