Fruth Investment Management Has $5.62 Million Stock Holdings in Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A)

Fruth Investment Management reduced its holdings in Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A) by 1.2% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 41,801 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 521 shares during the period. Agilent Technologies comprises approximately 1.5% of Fruth Investment Management’s holdings, making the stock its 13th biggest position. Fruth Investment Management’s holdings in Agilent Technologies were worth $5,615,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of A. Van ECK Associates Corp boosted its holdings in Agilent Technologies by 6.6% in the third 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 last quarter. Vestal Point Capital LP bought a new stake in shares of Agilent Technologies in the 3rd quarter valued at $14,848,000. Empowered Funds LLC increased its position in shares of Agilent Technologies by 29.8% during the third quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 30,978 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $4,592,000 after buying an additional 7,111 shares during the period. S.E.E.D. Planning Group LLC raised its stake in Agilent Technologies by 12.7% during the fourth quarter. S.E.E.D. Planning Group LLC now owns 42,587 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $5,721,000 after buying an additional 4,805 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Czech National Bank lifted its holdings in Agilent Technologies by 6.5% in the third quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 59,456 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $8,828,000 after buying an additional 3,612 shares during the period.

Agilent Technologies Price Performance

A stock opened at $147.92 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $42.24 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.47, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.10 and a beta of 1.07. Agilent Technologies, Inc. has a 52-week low of $124.16 and a 52-week high of $155.35. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $141.06 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $139.07. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57, a quick ratio of 1.58 and a current ratio of 2.09.

Agilent Technologies (NYSE:A) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, November 25th. The medical research company reported $1.46 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 the consensus estimate of $1.67 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.38 earnings per share. Agilent Technologies’s revenue was up .8% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts expect that Agilent Technologies, Inc. will post 5.56 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Agilent Technologies Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 22nd. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 31st were given a dividend of $0.248 per share. This is a positive change from Agilent Technologies’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.24. This represents a $0.99 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.67%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, December 31st. Agilent Technologies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 22.40%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently weighed in on A. Citigroup lifted their price objective on Agilent Technologies to $165.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. Sanford C. Bernstein lowered their target price on Agilent Technologies from $140.00 to $135.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, November 26th. Barclays lowered their price objective on shares of Agilent Technologies from $145.00 to $135.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, November 27th. StockNews.com raised shares of Agilent Technologies from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 24th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company decreased 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 note on Monday, December 9th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $143.62.

Insider Buying and Selling

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

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.