Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A) Director Sells $211,840.74 in Stock

Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A) Director Daniel K. Podolsky sold 1,819 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $116.46, for a total transaction of $211,840.74. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 35,737 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,161,931.02. This trade represents a 4.84 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink.

Agilent Technologies Stock Performance

Shares of Agilent Technologies stock opened at $102.97 on Friday. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $130.34 and a 200 day simple moving average of $135.75. Agilent Technologies, Inc. has a one year low of $102.85 and a one year high of $155.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56, a current ratio of 2.20 and a quick ratio of 1.66. The firm has a market capitalization of $29.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.67, a PEG ratio of 3.26 and a beta of 1.19.

Agilent Technologies (NYSE:A) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 26th. The medical research company reported $1.31 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.27 by $0.04. Agilent Technologies had a return on equity of 25.56% and a net margin of 19.27%. The company had revenue of $1.68 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.67 billion. On average, research analysts anticipate that Agilent Technologies, Inc. will post 5.57 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Agilent Technologies Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 23rd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, April 1st will be given a dividend of $0.248 per share. This represents a $0.99 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.96%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 1st. Agilent Technologies’s payout ratio is presently 22.76%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently issued reports on A. Robert W. Baird lowered their target price on Agilent Technologies from $161.00 to $159.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. Bank of America lowered their price objective on Agilent Technologies from $153.00 to $150.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on Agilent Technologies from $157.00 to $155.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, December 9th. Citigroup increased their target price on shares of Agilent Technologies to $165.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Agilent Technologies from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 24th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $150.83.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Agilent Technologies

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in A. Norges Bank bought a new position in Agilent Technologies during the 4th quarter valued at $456,963,000. Madison Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Agilent Technologies in the fourth quarter valued at about $94,051,000. Two Sigma Investments LP lifted its position in shares of Agilent Technologies by 345.9% during the fourth quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP now owns 769,897 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $103,428,000 after purchasing an additional 597,249 shares in the last quarter. Iron Triangle Partners LP purchased a new position in Agilent Technologies during the fourth quarter worth about $80,110,000. Finally, Marshall Wace LLP grew its position in Agilent Technologies by 280.3% in the 4th quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 806,895 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $108,398,000 after purchasing an additional 594,744 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.42% of the company’s stock.

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.