Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A) Shares Sold by New York State Common Retirement Fund

New York State Common Retirement Fund lessened its holdings in Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A) by 15.2% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 379,724 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 68,149 shares during the period. New York State Common Retirement Fund’s holdings in Agilent Technologies were worth $56,381,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of A. Quantbot Technologies LP acquired a new stake in Agilent Technologies during the first quarter worth about $938,000. Cetera Investment Advisers increased its holdings in shares of Agilent Technologies by 953.3% during the first quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 32,694 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $4,757,000 after buying an additional 29,590 shares in the last quarter. iA Global Asset Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Agilent Technologies by 26.2% during the first quarter. iA Global Asset Management Inc. now owns 21,770 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $3,168,000 after buying an additional 4,523 shares in the last quarter. Bayesian Capital Management LP acquired a new stake in shares of Agilent Technologies during the first quarter worth approximately $1,355,000. Finally, Marshall Financial Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Agilent Technologies during the second quarter worth approximately $1,058,000.

Agilent Technologies Trading Up 5.0 %

Shares of NYSE:A opened at $136.87 on Friday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $139.73 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $138.05. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a current ratio of 1.78 and a quick ratio of 1.37. Agilent Technologies, Inc. has a one year low of $102.70 and a one year high of $155.35. The stock has a market capitalization of $39.33 billion, a PE ratio of 28.40, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.31 and a beta of 1.05.

Agilent Technologies (NYSE:A) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 21st. The medical research company reported $1.32 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.26 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $1.58 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.56 billion. Agilent Technologies had a net margin of 21.75% and a return on equity of 25.26%. Agilent Technologies’s revenue for the quarter was down 5.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.43 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that Agilent Technologies, Inc. will post 5.24 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Agilent Technologies Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, October 23rd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, October 1st were issued a $0.236 dividend. This represents a $0.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.69%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, October 1st. Agilent Technologies’s dividend payout ratio is currently 19.50%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Agilent Technologies

In other news, SVP Dominique Grau sold 9,990 shares of the company’s 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 sale, the senior vice president now owns 40,011 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,801,595. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other Agilent Technologies news, CEO Padraig Mcdonnell sold 1,958 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 24,118 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,497,110. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, SVP Dominique Grau sold 9,990 shares of the company’s 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,801,595. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 11,995 shares of company stock valued at $1,739,510 in the last quarter.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company began coverage on shares of Agilent Technologies in a report on Tuesday, August 27th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $157.00 price objective for the company. Evercore ISI raised their price target on shares of Agilent Technologies from $135.00 to $145.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 1st. Stifel Nicolaus reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $151.00 price target on shares of Agilent Technologies in a report on Monday, August 26th. Citigroup lifted their target price on shares of Agilent Technologies from $150.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 22nd. Finally, Bank of America lifted their target price on shares of Agilent Technologies from $140.00 to $147.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, August 22nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target 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.