Archer Investment Corp Invests $288,000 in Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A)

Archer Investment Corp acquired a new stake in shares of Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A) in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor acquired 1,940 shares of the medical research company’s stock, valued at approximately $288,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in Agilent Technologies by 18.2% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 29,884,345 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $4,348,471,000 after buying an additional 4,605,228 shares during the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its position in Agilent Technologies by 13.9% during the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 8,542,054 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $1,242,956,000 after purchasing an additional 1,042,926 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its position in Agilent Technologies by 5.7% during the second quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 15,064,660 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $1,952,832,000 after purchasing an additional 809,149 shares in the last quarter. Champlain Investment Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Agilent Technologies during the 1st quarter worth approximately $61,218,000. Finally, Marshall Wace LLP grew its stake in Agilent Technologies by 48.6% in the 2nd quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 957,128 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $124,073,000 after acquiring an additional 313,155 shares during the period.

Insider Activity at Agilent Technologies

In other news, CEO Padraig Mcdonnell sold 1,958 shares of Agilent Technologies stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $145.00, for a total transaction 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 sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Dominique Grau sold 9,990 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the senior vice president now owns 40,011 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,801,595. This trade represents a 19.98 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 11,995 shares of company stock worth $1,739,510.

Agilent Technologies Stock Performance

Agilent Technologies stock traded down $2.79 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $127.43. 469,329 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,696,759. The firm has a market cap of $36.61 billion, a PE ratio of 26.65, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.91 and a beta of 1.07. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a quick ratio of 1.37 and a current ratio of 1.78. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $138.93 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $138.08. Agilent Technologies, Inc. has a twelve month low of $112.06 and a twelve month high of $155.35.

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

Agilent Technologies Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, October 23rd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, October 1st were issued a $0.236 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, October 1st. This represents a $0.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.74%. Agilent Technologies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 19.50%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have issued reports on the stock. UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of Agilent Technologies from $141.00 to $150.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, August 22nd. Stifel Nicolaus reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $151.00 price target on shares of Agilent Technologies in a research note on Monday, August 26th. Citigroup lifted their target price on shares of Agilent Technologies from $150.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 22nd. Bank of America raised their price objective on Agilent Technologies from $140.00 to $147.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 22nd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company began coverage on shares of Agilent Technologies in a report on Tuesday, August 27th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $157.00 target price on the stock. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Agilent Technologies currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $144.36.

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.