Parnassus Investments LLC Sells 16,766 Shares of Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A)

Parnassus Investments LLC lowered its position in shares of Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A) by 1.4% in the third quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 1,143,035 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 16,766 shares during the period. Parnassus Investments LLC’s holdings in Agilent Technologies were worth $169,718,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

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

Insider Transactions at Agilent Technologies

In other Agilent Technologies news, SVP Dominique Grau sold 9,990 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $145.00, for a total transaction of $1,448,550.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 40,011 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,801,595. This represents a 19.98 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Padraig Mcdonnell sold 1,958 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $145.00, for a total transaction of $283,910.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 24,118 shares in the company, valued at $3,497,110. This trade represents a 7.51 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 11,995 shares of company stock worth $1,739,510.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently commented on the company. Evercore ISI raised their price target on Agilent Technologies from $135.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 1st. Bank of America raised their target price on shares of Agilent Technologies from $140.00 to $147.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, August 22nd. Citigroup increased their price target on shares of Agilent Technologies from $150.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 22nd. Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of Agilent Technologies from $135.00 to $145.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 15th. Finally, TD Cowen upped their target price on Agilent Technologies from $153.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 22nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $144.36.

Agilent Technologies Price Performance

Shares of A opened at $126.92 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.37, a current ratio of 1.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36. The stock has a market cap of $36.47 billion, a PE ratio of 26.33, a PEG ratio of 5.59 and a beta of 1.07. Agilent Technologies, Inc. has a 12-month low of $112.39 and a 12-month high of $155.35. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $138.50 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $137.92.

Agilent Technologies (NYSE:A) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 21st. The medical research company reported $1.32 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.26 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $1.58 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.56 billion. Agilent Technologies had a return on equity of 25.26% and a net margin of 21.75%. The firm’s revenue was down 5.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.43 earnings per share. Analysts anticipate that Agilent Technologies, Inc. will post 5.24 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Agilent Technologies Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, October 23rd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, October 1st were paid a dividend of $0.236 per share. This represents a $0.94 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.74%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, October 1st. Agilent Technologies’s payout ratio is currently 19.50%.

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.