Lmcg Investments LLC Sells 603 Shares of Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A)

Lmcg Investments LLC decreased its position in shares of Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A) by 0.8% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 79,628 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 603 shares during the quarter. Lmcg Investments LLC’s holdings in Agilent Technologies were worth $10,697,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in A. Van ECK Associates Corp raised its holdings in Agilent Technologies by 6.6% during the 3rd 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 period. AXA S.A. grew its position in shares of Agilent Technologies by 32.3% in the second quarter. AXA S.A. now owns 362,945 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $47,049,000 after purchasing an additional 88,667 shares in the last quarter. Vestal Point Capital LP bought a new stake in shares of Agilent Technologies during the 3rd quarter valued at $14,848,000. Empowered Funds LLC raised its stake in shares of Agilent Technologies by 29.8% during the 3rd quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 30,978 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $4,592,000 after purchasing an additional 7,111 shares during the period. Finally, Czech National Bank lifted its holdings in Agilent Technologies by 6.5% during the 3rd quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 59,456 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $8,828,000 after purchasing an additional 3,612 shares in the last quarter.

Agilent Technologies Price Performance

A stock opened at $147.57 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57, a quick ratio of 1.58 and a current ratio of 2.09. The firm has a market cap of $42.15 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.39, a P/E/G ratio of 3.71 and a beta of 1.06. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $136.48 and its 200 day moving average is $137.34. Agilent Technologies, Inc. has a 52 week low of $124.16 and a 52 week high of $155.35.

Agilent Technologies (NYSE:A) last posted 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.67 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.38 EPS. Agilent Technologies’s revenue for the quarter was up .8% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts predict that Agilent Technologies, Inc. will post 5.56 earnings per share for the current year.

Agilent Technologies Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 22nd. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 31st will be issued 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 yield of 0.67%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 31st. Agilent Technologies’s dividend payout ratio is currently 22.40%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the company. Barclays reduced their target price on Agilent Technologies from $145.00 to $135.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, November 27th. Bank of America reduced their price objective on shares of Agilent Technologies from $153.00 to $150.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced 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 report on Monday, December 9th. Sanford C. Bernstein dropped their price objective 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, StockNews.com upgraded Agilent Technologies from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 24th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $143.62.

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.