Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A) Stake Trimmed by State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D

State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D cut its position in shares of Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A) by 0.9% in the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 106,104 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 919 shares during the quarter. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D’s holdings in Agilent Technologies were worth $15,754,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Crewe Advisors LLC grew its stake in Agilent Technologies by 114.8% in the second quarter. Crewe Advisors LLC now owns 189 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 101 shares in the last quarter. Livelsberger Financial Advisory bought a new position in Agilent Technologies during the third quarter valued at about $28,000. Ridgewood Investments LLC bought a new stake in shares of Agilent Technologies during the 2nd quarter worth about $29,000. Fortitude Family Office LLC raised its stake 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 acquiring an additional 95 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in Agilent Technologies in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $39,000. 87.42% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. TD Cowen increased their target price on shares of Agilent Technologies from $153.00 to $160.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 22nd. Bank of America increased their price target on Agilent Technologies from $140.00 to $147.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 22nd. Stifel Nicolaus reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $151.00 target price on shares of Agilent Technologies in a research note on Monday, August 26th. Wells Fargo & Company initiated coverage on Agilent Technologies in a research report on Tuesday, August 27th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $157.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Citigroup upped their price target on Agilent Technologies from $150.00 to $165.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 22nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $144.36.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Agilent Technologies news, CEO Padraig Mcdonnell sold 1,958 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $145.00, for a total value of $283,910.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 24,118 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,497,110. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other Agilent Technologies news, CEO Padraig Mcdonnell sold 1,958 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $145.00, for a total value of $283,910.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 24,118 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,497,110. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Dominique Grau sold 9,990 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $145.00, for a total transaction of $1,448,550.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 40,011 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,801,595. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 11,995 shares of company stock worth $1,739,510. 0.33% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Agilent Technologies Stock Performance

Shares of A opened at $136.68 on Monday. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $139.46 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $138.20. Agilent Technologies, Inc. has a 12 month low of $104.09 and a 12 month high of $155.35. The company has a current ratio of 1.78, a quick ratio of 1.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36. The stock has a market capitalization of $39.27 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.36, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.06 and a beta of 1.07.

Agilent Technologies (NYSE:A) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, August 21st. The medical research company reported $1.32 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.26 by $0.06. Agilent Technologies had a return on equity of 25.26% and a net margin of 21.75%. The business had revenue of $1.58 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.56 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.43 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was down 5.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts predict that Agilent Technologies, Inc. will post 5.24 EPS for the current year.

Agilent Technologies Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, October 23rd. Investors of record on Tuesday, October 1st were given a dividend of $0.236 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, October 1st. This represents a $0.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.69%. Agilent Technologies’s payout ratio is presently 19.50%.

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.