Signaturefd LLC Acquires 226 Shares of Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A)

Signaturefd LLC raised its holdings in Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A) by 3.2% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 7,223 shares of the medical research company’s stock after buying an additional 226 shares during the quarter. Signaturefd LLC’s holdings in Agilent Technologies were worth $970,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. GSA Capital Partners LLP bought a new stake in Agilent Technologies during the 3rd quarter worth about $499,000. Natixis Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Agilent Technologies by 15.7% during the third quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 113,991 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $16,926,000 after purchasing an additional 15,435 shares during the last quarter. Mutual of America Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Agilent Technologies by 0.3% in the third quarter. Mutual of America Capital Management LLC now owns 50,306 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $7,469,000 after purchasing an additional 160 shares in the last quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans raised its position in Agilent Technologies by 3.1% in the 3rd quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 292,789 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $43,473,000 after purchasing an additional 8,874 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Quest Partners LLC lifted its holdings in Agilent Technologies by 339.3% during the 3rd quarter. Quest Partners LLC now owns 6,862 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $1,019,000 after buying an additional 5,300 shares in the last quarter.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Padraig Mcdonnell sold 1,911 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $150.00, for a total value of $286,650.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 39,652 shares in the company, valued at $5,947,800. The trade was a 4.60 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, VP Rodney Gonsalves sold 1,908 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $121.98, for a total value of $232,737.84. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 21,786 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,657,456.28. This trade represents a 8.05 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on the company. StockNews.com raised Agilent Technologies from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 24th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on Agilent Technologies from $157.00 to $155.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, December 9th. Citigroup lifted their target price on Agilent Technologies to $165.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note 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 research note on Tuesday, November 26th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on Agilent Technologies from $165.00 to $160.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, November 26th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Agilent Technologies has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $146.15.

Agilent Technologies Stock Performance

A stock opened at $123.10 on Wednesday. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $137.70 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $137.68. The company has a current ratio of 2.20, a quick ratio of 1.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56. The firm has a market cap of $35.09 billion, a PE ratio of 28.30, a P/E/G ratio of 3.40 and a beta of 1.11. Agilent Technologies, Inc. has a 1-year low of $117.17 and a 1-year high of $155.35.

Agilent Technologies (NYSE:A) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 26th. The medical research company reported $1.31 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.27 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $1.68 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.67 billion. Agilent Technologies had a return on equity of 25.56% and a net margin of 19.27%. As a group, research analysts forecast that Agilent Technologies, Inc. will post 5.57 earnings per share for the current year.

Agilent Technologies Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 23rd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, April 1st will be issued a $0.248 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 1st. This represents a $0.99 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.81%. Agilent Technologies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 22.76%.

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.