Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A) Shares Sold by MetLife Investment Management LLC

MetLife Investment Management LLC decreased its holdings in Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A) by 2.9% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 75,882 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 2,278 shares during the quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Agilent Technologies were worth $11,267,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of A. Crewe Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Agilent Technologies by 114.8% during the 2nd quarter. Crewe Advisors LLC now owns 189 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 101 shares in the last quarter. Livelsberger Financial Advisory acquired a new position in Agilent Technologies in the third quarter worth about $28,000. Ridgewood Investments LLC bought a new stake in Agilent Technologies in the second quarter valued at about $29,000. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC acquired a new stake in Agilent Technologies during the third quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Finally, Fortitude Family Office LLC lifted its holdings in Agilent Technologies by 68.3% during the 3rd quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 234 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $35,000 after buying an additional 95 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.42% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on A shares. Wells Fargo & Company started coverage on Agilent Technologies in a report on Tuesday, August 27th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $157.00 price target for the company. StockNews.com lowered shares of Agilent Technologies from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday. TD Cowen raised their price target on shares of Agilent Technologies from $153.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 22nd. Evercore ISI boosted their price objective on Agilent Technologies from $135.00 to $145.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 1st. Finally, Bank of America boosted their target price on shares of Agilent Technologies from $140.00 to $147.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 22nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $143.40.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, SVP Dominique Grau sold 9,990 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $145.00, for a total value of $1,448,550.00. Following 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 position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 0.33% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Agilent Technologies Stock Up 2.8 %

NYSE A opened at $138.14 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a current ratio of 1.78 and a quick ratio of 1.37. The company has a market capitalization of $39.69 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.66, a PEG ratio of 5.91 and a beta of 1.07. Agilent Technologies, Inc. has a 12 month low of $124.10 and a 12 month high of $155.35. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $137.65 and its 200 day simple moving average is $137.44.

Agilent Technologies Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 22nd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st will be paid a dividend of $0.248 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, December 31st. This is a positive change from Agilent Technologies’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.24. This represents a $0.99 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.72%. Agilent Technologies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 20.54%.

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.