Clarius Group LLC Buys 170 Shares of Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A)

Clarius Group LLC boosted its stake in shares of Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A) by 8.3% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 2,217 shares of the medical research company’s stock after acquiring an additional 170 shares during the period. Clarius Group LLC’s holdings in Agilent Technologies were worth $298,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Livelsberger Financial Advisory purchased a new stake in shares of Agilent Technologies during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $28,000. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC purchased a new stake in Agilent Technologies during the third quarter valued at $31,000. Fortitude Family Office LLC lifted its position in Agilent Technologies by 68.3% during the third quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 234 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 95 shares during the last quarter. RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC purchased a new position in shares of Agilent Technologies in the 3rd quarter worth $38,000. Finally, Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC bought a new stake in shares of Agilent Technologies in the 4th quarter worth about $46,000.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Citigroup increased their price target on shares of Agilent Technologies to $165.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, December 19th. StockNews.com upgraded Agilent Technologies from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 24th. Sanford C. Bernstein cut their target price on 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on Agilent Technologies from $165.00 to $160.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, November 26th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on shares of Agilent Technologies from $157.00 to $155.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, December 9th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $143.62.

Agilent Technologies Stock Performance

Agilent Technologies stock opened at $147.57 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57, a quick ratio of 1.58 and a current ratio of 2.09. The company has a market capitalization of $42.15 billion, a PE ratio of 33.39, a P/E/G ratio of 3.71 and a beta of 1.06. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $136.48 and a 200-day moving average price of $137.27. Agilent Technologies, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $124.16 and a fifty-two week high of $155.35.

Agilent Technologies (NYSE:A) last issued its earnings results on Monday, November 25th. The medical research company reported $1.46 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.41 by $0.05. Agilent Technologies had a return on equity of 25.43% and a net margin of 19.80%. The business had revenue of $1.70 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.67 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.38 EPS. Agilent Technologies’s revenue was up .8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Agilent Technologies, Inc. will post 5.56 earnings per share for the current year.

Agilent Technologies Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 22nd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st will be issued a dividend of $0.248 per share. This represents a $0.99 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.67%. This is a boost from Agilent Technologies’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.24. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 31st. Agilent Technologies’s dividend payout ratio is presently 22.40%.

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.