Fruth Investment Management Sells 521 Shares of Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A)

Fruth Investment Management cut its holdings in Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A) by 1.2% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 41,801 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 521 shares during the quarter. Agilent Technologies comprises 1.5% of Fruth Investment Management’s portfolio, making the stock its 13th largest position. Fruth Investment Management’s holdings in Agilent Technologies were worth $5,615,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of A. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. increased its stake in shares of Agilent Technologies by 14.7% in the 2nd quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 2,858 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $370,000 after acquiring an additional 366 shares during the last quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers grew its holdings in Agilent Technologies by 23.8% during the second quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 40,485 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $5,248,000 after purchasing an additional 7,791 shares during the period. Sanctuary Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Agilent Technologies in the second quarter valued at approximately $2,102,000. AMF Tjanstepension AB acquired a new stake in Agilent Technologies in the third quarter worth $2,726,000. Finally, Czech National Bank boosted its position in shares of Agilent Technologies by 6.5% during the third quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 59,456 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $8,828,000 after purchasing an additional 3,612 shares in the last quarter.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Padraig Mcdonnell sold 1,911 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $150.00, for a total value of $286,650.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 39,652 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,947,800. This trade represents a 4.60 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Barclays decreased their price objective on Agilent Technologies from $145.00 to $135.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, November 27th. Sanford C. Bernstein lowered their price objective on shares of Agilent Technologies from $140.00 to $135.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, November 26th. Bank of America cut their price objective on shares of Agilent Technologies from $153.00 to $150.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, December 13th. StockNews.com upgraded Agilent Technologies from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 24th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on Agilent Technologies from $165.00 to $160.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, November 26th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $143.62.

Agilent Technologies Stock Performance

NYSE:A opened at $147.92 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 2.09, a quick ratio of 1.58 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $141.06 and a 200 day simple moving average of $139.07. Agilent Technologies, Inc. has a 1-year low of $124.16 and a 1-year high of $155.35. The stock has a market cap of $42.24 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.47, a PEG ratio of 4.10 and a beta of 1.07.

Agilent Technologies (NYSE:A) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, November 25th. The medical research company reported $1.46 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.41 by $0.05. Agilent Technologies had a net margin of 19.80% and a return on equity of 25.43%. The business had revenue of $1.70 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.67 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.38 EPS. The business’s revenue was up .8% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts anticipate that Agilent Technologies, Inc. will post 5.56 earnings per share for the current year.

Agilent Technologies Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 22nd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st were paid a dividend of $0.248 per share. This represents a $0.99 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.67%. This is an increase from Agilent Technologies’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.24. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, December 31st. Agilent Technologies’s dividend payout ratio is presently 22.40%.

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.