Hartline Investment Corp Makes New Investment in Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A)

Hartline Investment Corp bought a new position in Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A) in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 1,642 shares of the medical research company’s stock, valued at approximately $239,000.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in A. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Agilent Technologies by 0.8% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 25,279,117 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $3,514,556,000 after acquiring an additional 206,865 shares during the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its stake in shares of Agilent Technologies by 19.6% during the fourth quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 13,246,489 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $1,841,659,000 after acquiring an additional 2,170,219 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its stake in shares of Agilent Technologies by 17.4% during the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 10,255,526 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $1,146,773,000 after acquiring an additional 1,519,134 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Agilent Technologies during the fourth quarter worth about $509,904,000. Finally, Van ECK Associates Corp grew its stake in shares of Agilent Technologies by 0.9% during the first quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 2,774,984 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $403,788,000 after acquiring an additional 25,127 shares during the last quarter.

Insider Transactions at Agilent Technologies

In other news, CEO Padraig Mcdonnell sold 1,958 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $130.00, for a total transaction of $254,540.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 25,185 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,274,050. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. In related news, SVP Dominique Grau sold 15,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, June 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $133.28, for a total value of $1,999,200.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 49,486 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,595,494.08. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Padraig Mcdonnell sold 1,958 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, June 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $130.00, for a total value of $254,540.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 25,185 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,274,050. The disclosure for this sale can be found here.

Agilent Technologies Stock Performance

NYSE:A traded up $0.22 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $126.35. The company had a trading volume of 1,341,650 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,787,808. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a current ratio of 2.15 and a quick ratio of 1.64. The firm has a market cap of $36.86 billion, a PE ratio of 29.82, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.28 and a beta of 1.05. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $138.73 and its 200-day moving average price is $138.18. Agilent Technologies, Inc. has a 1-year low of $96.80 and a 1-year high of $155.35.

Agilent Technologies (NYSE:A) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, May 29th. The medical research company reported $1.22 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.19 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $1.57 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.58 billion. Agilent Technologies had a return on equity of 26.25% and a net margin of 18.84%. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 8.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.27 EPS. Research analysts forecast that Agilent Technologies, Inc. will post 5.25 EPS for the current year.

Agilent Technologies Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 24th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, July 2nd will be paid a dividend of $0.236 per share. This represents a $0.94 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.75%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, July 2nd. Agilent Technologies’s payout ratio is 22.22%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on A. TD Cowen dropped their price target on Agilent Technologies from $163.00 to $153.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, May 30th. Robert W. Baird dropped their target price on Agilent Technologies from $147.00 to $136.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, May 30th. Bank of America upped their target price on Agilent Technologies from $134.00 to $140.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 25th. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a “hold” rating and issued a $135.00 target price (down previously from $152.00) on shares of Agilent Technologies in a research report on Monday, June 3rd. Finally, Oppenheimer upped their target price on Agilent Technologies from $67.00 to $90.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 26th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Agilent Technologies has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $137.13.

About Agilent Technologies

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.