Empirical Finance LLC Has $1.52 Million Holdings in Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A)

Empirical Finance LLC lifted its stake in Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A) by 2.0% during the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 10,231 shares of the medical research company’s stock after buying an additional 196 shares during the period. Empirical Finance LLC’s holdings in Agilent Technologies were worth $1,519,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of A. Western Pacific Wealth Management LP increased its holdings in shares of Agilent Technologies by 18.9% during the 1st quarter. Western Pacific Wealth Management LP now owns 440 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $64,000 after purchasing an additional 70 shares during the period. Menard Financial Group LLC increased its stake in Agilent Technologies by 1.6% during the second quarter. Menard Financial Group LLC now owns 4,845 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $628,000 after acquiring an additional 77 shares during the period. McAdam LLC increased its stake in Agilent Technologies by 3.1% during the third quarter. McAdam LLC now owns 2,531 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $376,000 after acquiring an additional 77 shares during the period. Global Retirement Partners LLC raised its holdings in Agilent Technologies by 3.2% in the 3rd quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 2,570 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $382,000 after acquiring an additional 79 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Rovin Capital UT ADV grew its holdings in shares of Agilent Technologies by 1.6% during the 3rd quarter. Rovin Capital UT ADV now owns 5,049 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $750,000 after purchasing an additional 81 shares in the last quarter.

Agilent Technologies Price Performance

Shares of A stock opened at $127.07 on Friday. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $138.73 and its 200-day moving average is $138.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a quick ratio of 1.37 and a current ratio of 1.78. Agilent Technologies, Inc. has a 52 week low of $112.06 and a 52 week high of $155.35. The stock has a market capitalization of $36.51 billion, a PE ratio of 26.36, a PEG ratio of 5.91 and a beta of 1.07.

Agilent Technologies (NYSE:A) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 21st. The medical research company reported $1.32 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.26 by $0.06. Agilent Technologies had a net margin of 21.75% and a return on equity of 25.26%. The firm had revenue of $1.58 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.56 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.43 EPS. The company’s revenue was down 5.6% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts expect that Agilent Technologies, Inc. will post 5.24 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Agilent Technologies Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Agilent Technologies

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently commented on A shares. UBS Group raised their target price on Agilent Technologies from $141.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 22nd. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Agilent Technologies from $135.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 15th. Bank of America increased their price target on shares of Agilent Technologies from $140.00 to $147.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company initiated coverage on Agilent Technologies in a research note on Tuesday, August 27th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $157.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Citigroup raised their target price on Agilent Technologies from $150.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 22nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Agilent Technologies currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $144.36.

Agilent Technologies Company 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.