Putnam Investments LLC Lowers Holdings in Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A)

Putnam Investments LLC decreased its stake in Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A) by 10.7% during the first quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 24,106 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 2,879 shares during the quarter. Putnam Investments LLC’s holdings in Agilent Technologies were worth $3,335,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Synovus Financial Corp boosted its position in Agilent Technologies by 2.3% during the first quarter. Synovus Financial Corp now owns 6,751 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $895,000 after purchasing an additional 153 shares in the last quarter. Blair William & Co. IL boosted its position in Agilent Technologies by 7.3% during the first quarter. Blair William & Co. IL now owns 28,606 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $3,785,000 after purchasing an additional 1,957 shares in the last quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC boosted its position in Agilent Technologies by 52.1% during the first quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 2,334 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $309,000 after purchasing an additional 799 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in Agilent Technologies by 1.1% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 24,531,170 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $3,246,209,000 after purchasing an additional 261,435 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Zions Bancorporation N.A. boosted its position in Agilent Technologies by 10.8% during the first quarter. Zions Bancorporation N.A. now owns 2,880 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $381,000 after purchasing an additional 281 shares in the last quarter.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on the company. Credit Suisse Group lowered their price target on Agilent Technologies from $160.00 to $150.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, August 16th. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their target price on Agilent Technologies from $153.00 to $135.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, May 24th. Barclays reduced their target price on Agilent Technologies from $115.00 to $110.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, August 16th. Robert W. Baird reduced their target price on Agilent Technologies from $144.00 to $140.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, August 16th. Finally, Citigroup reduced their target price on Agilent Technologies from $150.00 to $130.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, May 24th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $148.12.

Insider Transactions at Agilent Technologies

In other news, VP Rodney Gonsalves sold 3,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $118.78, for a total transaction of $415,730.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 24,219 shares in the company, valued at $2,876,732.82. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. In other news, VP Rodney Gonsalves sold 3,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $118.78, for a total transaction of $415,730.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 24,219 shares in the company, valued at $2,876,732.82. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Michael R. Mcmullen sold 944 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $130.00, for a total value of $122,720.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 260,869 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $33,912,970. The disclosure for this sale can be found here.

Agilent Technologies Trading Up 0.9 %

Shares of Agilent Technologies stock opened at $115.91 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $33.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.34, a PEG ratio of 2.09 and a beta of 1.03. Agilent Technologies, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $109.00 and a fifty-two week high of $160.26. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49, a quick ratio of 1.68 and a current ratio of 2.29. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $121.61 and a 200 day moving average of $126.47.

Agilent Technologies (NYSE:A) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 15th. The medical research company reported $1.43 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.36 by $0.07. The company had revenue of $1.67 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.66 billion. Agilent Technologies had a return on equity of 29.86% and a net margin of 16.20%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 2.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.34 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts predict that Agilent Technologies, Inc. will post 5.42 earnings per share for the current year.

Agilent Technologies Profile

Agilent Technologies, Inc provides application focused solutions to the life sciences, diagnostics, and applied chemical markets worldwide. 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; vacuum pumps, and measurement technologies.