Kovack Advisors Inc. Takes $270,000 Position in Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A)

Kovack Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A) during the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor purchased 1,819 shares of the medical research company’s stock, valued at approximately $270,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in A. Livelsberger Financial Advisory acquired a new position in shares of Agilent Technologies during the third quarter worth approximately $28,000. Crewe Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Agilent Technologies by 114.8% during the 2nd quarter. Crewe Advisors LLC now owns 189 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 101 shares in the last quarter. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC bought a new position in Agilent Technologies in the 3rd quarter valued at $31,000. Ridgewood Investments LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Agilent Technologies in the 2nd quarter valued at $29,000. Finally, Fortitude Family Office LLC raised its position in shares of Agilent Technologies by 68.3% during the third quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 234 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $35,000 after acquiring an additional 95 shares during the last quarter.

Insider Transactions at Agilent Technologies

In other news, SVP Dominique Grau sold 9,990 shares of Agilent Technologies stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $145.00, for a total value of $1,448,550.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 40,011 shares in the company, valued at $5,801,595. This trade represents a 19.98 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Padraig Mcdonnell sold 1,958 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $145.00, for a total transaction of $283,910.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 24,118 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,497,110. The trade was a 7.51 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 11,995 shares of company stock valued at $1,739,510 over the last quarter.

Agilent Technologies Price Performance

A opened at $127.07 on Friday. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $138.93 and a 200 day simple moving average of $138.08. The company has a quick ratio of 1.37, a current ratio of 1.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36. The stock has a market cap of $36.51 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.36, a P/E/G ratio of 5.91 and a beta of 1.07. Agilent Technologies, Inc. has a 12 month low of $112.06 and a 12 month high of $155.35.

Agilent Technologies (NYSE:A) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 21st. The medical research company reported $1.32 earnings per share (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 company had revenue of $1.58 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.56 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.43 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 5.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts expect that Agilent Technologies, Inc. will post 5.24 EPS for the current year.

Agilent Technologies Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, October 23rd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, October 1st were issued a $0.236 dividend. This represents a $0.94 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.74%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, October 1st. Agilent Technologies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 19.50%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A has been the topic of several recent research reports. TD Cowen raised their price target on Agilent Technologies from $153.00 to $160.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company started coverage on shares of Agilent Technologies in a research note on Tuesday, August 27th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $157.00 target price on the stock. Barclays boosted their price target on shares of Agilent Technologies from $135.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 15th. Stifel Nicolaus reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $151.00 price objective on shares of Agilent Technologies in a research note on Monday, August 26th. Finally, Evercore ISI upped their target price on shares of Agilent Technologies from $135.00 to $145.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 1st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Agilent Technologies presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $144.36.

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.