Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A) Director Daniel K. Podolsky Sells 1,819 Shares

Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A) Director Daniel K. Podolsky sold 1,819 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $116.46, for a total value of $211,840.74. Following the sale, the director now owns 35,737 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,161,931.02. This represents a 4.84 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink.

Agilent Technologies Stock Performance

NYSE A traded up $1.91 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $115.96. 1,947,367 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,775,063. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $132.90 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $136.32. The firm has a market capitalization of $33.06 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.66, a P/E/G ratio of 3.28 and a beta of 1.19. The company has a current ratio of 2.20, a quick ratio of 1.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56. Agilent Technologies, Inc. has a 52 week low of $112.47 and a 52 week high of $155.35.

Agilent Technologies (NYSE:A) last posted its quarterly earnings results 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 business had revenue of $1.68 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.67 billion. Agilent Technologies had a net margin of 19.27% and a return on equity of 25.56%. Equities research analysts predict that Agilent Technologies, Inc. will post 5.57 EPS for the current year.

Agilent Technologies Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 23rd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, April 1st will be paid a $0.248 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 1st. This represents a $0.99 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.86%. Agilent Technologies’s payout ratio is 22.76%.

Institutional Trading of Agilent Technologies

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Agilent Technologies in the fourth quarter valued at about $456,963,000. Madison Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Agilent Technologies during the fourth quarter worth about $94,051,000. Two Sigma Investments LP raised its position in Agilent Technologies by 345.9% in the fourth quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP now owns 769,897 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $103,428,000 after purchasing an additional 597,249 shares during the period. Iron Triangle Partners LP purchased a new position in Agilent Technologies during the 4th quarter valued at about $80,110,000. Finally, Marshall Wace LLP grew its holdings in shares of Agilent Technologies by 280.3% in the fourth quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 806,895 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $108,398,000 after purchasing an additional 594,744 shares in the last quarter.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently commented on the company. Citigroup upped their target price on Agilent Technologies to $165.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. Barclays raised Agilent Technologies from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and raised their target price for the company from $135.00 to $145.00 in a report on Monday, February 10th. Robert W. Baird dropped their price target on Agilent Technologies from $161.00 to $159.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped 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 note on Monday, December 9th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Agilent Technologies from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 24th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Agilent Technologies has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $150.83.

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.