Ethic Inc. Has $4.33 Million Stock Position in Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A)

Ethic Inc. reduced its stake in Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A) by 8.1% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 32,209 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 2,821 shares during the quarter. Ethic Inc.’s holdings in Agilent Technologies were worth $4,327,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Flynn Zito Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Agilent Technologies by 3.8% in the fourth quarter. Flynn Zito Capital Management LLC now owns 1,871 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $251,000 after acquiring an additional 69 shares during the last quarter. IFP Advisors Inc raised its stake in Agilent Technologies by 17.7% during the fourth quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 458 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $62,000 after acquiring an additional 69 shares in the last quarter. Tiemann Investment Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Agilent Technologies by 5.6% during the 4th quarter. Tiemann Investment Advisors LLC now owns 1,423 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $191,000 after purchasing an additional 75 shares during the last quarter. Rothschild Investment LLC raised its stake in shares of Agilent Technologies by 19.2% in the fourth quarter. Rothschild Investment LLC now owns 491 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $66,000 after acquiring an additional 79 shares during the last quarter. Finally, CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC boosted its stake in Agilent Technologies by 1.2% in the fourth quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 7,479 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $1,025,000 after purchasing an additional 87 shares in the last quarter.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, VP Rodney Gonsalves sold 1,908 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $121.98, for a total value of $232,737.84. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 21,786 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,657,456.28. This trade represents a 8.05 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Daniel K. Podolsky sold 1,819 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $116.46, for a total transaction of $211,840.74. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 35,737 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,161,931.02. The trade was a 4.84 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on A. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their target price on shares of Agilent Technologies from $135.00 to $116.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 21st. Barclays decreased their target price on Agilent Technologies from $138.00 to $115.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 10th. Robert W. Baird lowered their price objective on shares of Agilent Technologies from $161.00 to $159.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on shares of Agilent Technologies from $155.00 to $135.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 17th. Finally, TD Cowen upped their price objective on Agilent Technologies to $135.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 10th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $143.00.

Agilent Technologies Trading Down 1.6 %

Shares of NYSE:A opened at $106.93 on Friday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $111.53 and a 200 day simple moving average of $128.77. The company has a market capitalization of $30.49 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.58, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.01 and a beta of 1.27. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56, a quick ratio of 1.66 and a current ratio of 2.20. Agilent Technologies, Inc. has a 52-week low of $96.43 and a 52-week high of $155.35.

Agilent Technologies (NYSE:A) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 26th. The medical research company reported $1.31 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.27 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $1.68 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.67 billion. Agilent Technologies had a net margin of 19.27% and a return on equity of 25.56%. Sell-side analysts forecast that Agilent Technologies, Inc. will post 5.54 earnings per share for the current year.

Agilent Technologies Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 23rd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, April 1st were issued a dividend of $0.248 per share. This represents a $0.99 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.93%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, April 1st. Agilent Technologies’s dividend payout ratio is currently 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.