New Mexico Educational Retirement Board Trims Stake in Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A)

New Mexico Educational Retirement Board trimmed its holdings in shares of Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A) by 2.8% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 13,893 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 400 shares during the period. New Mexico Educational Retirement Board’s holdings in Agilent Technologies were worth $1,866,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of A. CKW Financial Group boosted its position in shares of Agilent Technologies by 114.9% in the 4th quarter. CKW Financial Group now owns 187 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the period. Global X Japan Co. Ltd. boosted its position in shares of Agilent Technologies by 161.1% in the 4th quarter. Global X Japan Co. Ltd. now owns 188 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 116 shares during the period. Livelsberger Financial Advisory acquired a new stake in shares of Agilent Technologies in the 3rd quarter valued at about $28,000. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Agilent Technologies in the 3rd quarter valued at about $31,000. Finally, Fortitude Family Office LLC boosted its position in shares of Agilent Technologies by 68.3% in the 3rd 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 period. 87.42% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Agilent Technologies Stock Performance

Shares of A stock opened at $134.57 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $38.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.45, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.00 and a beta of 1.07. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $141.53 and a 200-day simple moving average of $139.41. Agilent Technologies, Inc. has a 12-month low of $124.16 and a 12-month high of $155.35. The company has a current ratio of 2.09, a quick ratio of 1.58 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57.

Agilent Technologies (NYSE:A) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, November 25th. The medical research company reported $1.46 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 firm had revenue of $1.70 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.67 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.38 EPS. Agilent Technologies’s quarterly revenue was up .8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts forecast that Agilent Technologies, Inc. will post 5.56 EPS for the current year.

Agilent Technologies Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 22nd. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 31st were paid a $0.248 dividend. This is an increase from Agilent Technologies’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.24. This represents a $0.99 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.74%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, December 31st. Agilent Technologies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 22.40%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on A. Bank of America decreased their target price on Agilent Technologies from $153.00 to $150.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Citigroup increased their price objective on Agilent Technologies to $165.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on Agilent Technologies from $157.00 to $155.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, December 9th. StockNews.com raised Agilent Technologies from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 24th. Finally, Barclays raised Agilent Technologies from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $135.00 to $145.00 in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $144.38.

Insider Activity at Agilent Technologies

In related news, CEO Padraig Mcdonnell sold 1,911 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 directly owns 39,652 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,947,800. This trade represents a 4.60 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.26% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.