Bailard Inc. Trims Stock Holdings in Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A)

Bailard Inc. cut its holdings in Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A) by 3.2% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,472 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 81 shares during the period. Bailard Inc.’s holdings in Agilent Technologies were worth $344,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the business. Carmel Capital Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Agilent Technologies by 1.2% in the fourth quarter. Carmel Capital Partners LLC now owns 6,709 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $933,000 after buying an additional 78 shares in the last quarter. Kepos Capital LP boosted its holdings in Agilent Technologies by 3.5% in the 3rd quarter. Kepos Capital LP now owns 2,775 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $310,000 after purchasing an additional 93 shares during the period. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton grew its position in shares of 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 in the last quarter. Invesco LLC increased its holdings in shares of Agilent Technologies by 0.7% in the third quarter. Invesco LLC now owns 15,471 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $1,730,000 after purchasing an additional 101 shares during the period. Finally, Balentine LLC raised its position in shares of Agilent Technologies by 3.4% in the third quarter. Balentine LLC now owns 3,180 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $356,000 after buying an additional 104 shares in the last quarter.

Agilent Technologies Price Performance

A stock opened at $137.74 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 2.68, a quick ratio of 2.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $141.59 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $130.80. The stock has a market capitalization of $40.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.80, a PEG ratio of 4.17 and a beta of 1.11. Agilent Technologies, Inc. has a 12-month low of $96.80 and a 12-month high of $151.58.

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

Agilent Technologies Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Transactions at Agilent Technologies

In other Agilent Technologies news, SVP Philip Binns sold 2,827 shares of Agilent Technologies stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $147.54, for a total transaction of $417,095.58. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 9,997 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,474,957.38. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other Agilent Technologies news, Director Heidi Fields sold 1,658 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $144.34, for a total value of $239,315.72. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 54,976 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,935,235.84. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, SVP Philip Binns sold 2,827 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $147.54, for a total transaction of $417,095.58. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 9,997 shares in the company, valued at $1,474,957.38. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 61,610 shares of company stock valued at $9,220,333.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on A shares. UBS Group upped their target price on Agilent Technologies from $130.00 to $155.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 28th. Stifel Nicolaus raised shares of Agilent Technologies from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their target price for the company from $145.00 to $163.00 in a research note on Friday, April 5th. Evercore ISI increased their price target on shares of Agilent Technologies from $132.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a report on Thursday, April 4th. Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of Agilent Technologies from $125.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. Finally, Citigroup increased their target price on Agilent Technologies from $130.00 to $145.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 28th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $141.29.

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.