Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A) Shares Purchased by Ieq Capital LLC

Ieq Capital LLC lifted its stake in Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A) by 52.3% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 25,849 shares of the medical research company’s stock after acquiring an additional 8,879 shares during the quarter. Ieq Capital LLC’s holdings in Agilent Technologies were worth $3,473,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. CKW Financial Group increased its stake in Agilent Technologies by 114.9% during the 4th quarter. CKW Financial Group now owns 187 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 100 shares during the period. Global X Japan Co. Ltd. increased its stake in Agilent Technologies by 161.1% during the 4th quarter. Global X Japan Co. Ltd. now owns 188 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 116 shares during the period. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC purchased a new stake in Agilent Technologies during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $31,000. Fortitude Family Office LLC increased its stake in Agilent Technologies by 68.3% during the 3rd quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 234 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $35,000 after buying an additional 95 shares during the period. Finally, Hanson & Doremus Investment Management increased its stake in Agilent Technologies by 66.5% during the 4th quarter. Hanson & Doremus Investment Management now owns 263 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $35,000 after buying an additional 105 shares during the period.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Padraig Mcdonnell sold 1,911 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $150.00, for a total transaction of $286,650.00. Following the completion of the sale, 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 at the SEC website.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on A shares. Bank of America cut their target price on shares of Agilent Technologies from $153.00 to $150.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, December 13th. StockNews.com raised shares of Agilent Technologies from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 24th. Sanford C. Bernstein dropped their price objective on shares of 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. Citigroup increased their price objective on shares of Agilent Technologies to $165.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. Finally, Barclays raised shares of Agilent Technologies from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $135.00 to $145.00 in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Agilent Technologies has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $144.38.

Agilent Technologies Trading Down 1.1 %

NYSE A opened at $135.33 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57, a current ratio of 2.09 and a quick ratio of 1.58. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $140.97 and its 200 day moving average price is $139.31. The company has a market capitalization of $38.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.62, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.71 and a beta of 1.07. Agilent Technologies, Inc. has a 12 month low of $124.16 and a 12 month high of $155.35.

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

Agilent Technologies Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 23rd. Investors of record on Tuesday, April 1st will be paid a dividend of $0.248 per share. This represents a $0.99 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.73%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 1st. Agilent Technologies’s dividend payout ratio is currently 22.40%.

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.