Louisiana State Employees Retirement System Sells 900 Shares of Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A)

Louisiana State Employees Retirement System decreased its holdings in Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A) by 5.5% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 15,500 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 900 shares during the quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System’s holdings in Agilent Technologies were worth $2,082,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the stock. AMF Tjanstepension AB acquired a new stake in shares of Agilent Technologies in the third quarter valued at about $2,726,000. Creative Planning boosted its holdings in Agilent Technologies by 5.9% in the third quarter. Creative Planning now owns 44,910 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $6,668,000 after acquiring an additional 2,498 shares during the last quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC raised its holdings in Agilent Technologies by 3.2% during the 3rd quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 2,570 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $382,000 after purchasing an additional 79 shares during the last quarter. Marshall Financial Group LLC lifted its position in shares of Agilent Technologies by 1.0% in the 3rd quarter. Marshall Financial Group LLC now owns 8,243 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $1,224,000 after purchasing an additional 82 shares during the period. Finally, Cardinal Capital Management boosted its stake in shares of Agilent Technologies by 4.0% in the 3rd quarter. Cardinal Capital Management now owns 68,551 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $10,178,000 after purchasing an additional 2,665 shares during the last quarter.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Agilent Technologies from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 24th. Barclays raised Agilent Technologies from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $135.00 to $145.00 in a research note on Monday, February 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on Agilent Technologies from $165.00 to $160.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, November 26th. Sanford C. Bernstein dropped their price target on Agilent Technologies from $140.00 to $135.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, November 26th. Finally, Citigroup raised their price objective on shares of Agilent Technologies to $165.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $144.38.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Padraig Mcdonnell sold 1,911 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $150.00, for a total value of $286,650.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 39,652 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,947,800. The trade was a 4.60 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website.

Agilent Technologies Stock Down 1.4 %

Shares of NYSE A opened at $134.57 on Friday. Agilent Technologies, Inc. has a 1 year low of $124.16 and a 1 year high of $155.35. The stock has a market capitalization of $38.39 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.45, a P/E/G ratio of 4.00 and a beta of 1.07. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57, a current ratio of 2.09 and a quick ratio of 1.58. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $141.65 and a 200-day moving average price of $139.43.

Agilent Technologies (NYSE:A) last posted its earnings results on Monday, November 25th. The medical research company reported $1.46 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.41 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $1.70 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.67 billion. Agilent Technologies had a net margin of 19.80% and a return on equity of 25.43%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up .8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.38 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Agilent Technologies, Inc. will post 5.56 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Agilent Technologies Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 22nd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st were paid a dividend of $0.248 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, December 31st. This represents a $0.99 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.74%. This is a positive change from Agilent Technologies’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.24. Agilent Technologies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 22.40%.

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.