Keystone Wealth Services LLC Takes Position in Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A)

Keystone Wealth Services LLC bought a new stake in Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A) in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm bought 1,922 shares of the medical research company’s stock, valued at approximately $285,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Western Pacific Wealth Management LP increased its stake in shares of Agilent Technologies by 18.9% in the 1st quarter. Western Pacific Wealth Management LP now owns 440 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $64,000 after buying an additional 70 shares during the period. Ballentine Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of Agilent Technologies by 2.5% in the 1st quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC now owns 2,963 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $431,000 after buying an additional 73 shares during the period. Haverford Trust Co increased its stake in shares of Agilent Technologies by 1.7% in the 1st quarter. Haverford Trust Co now owns 4,423 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $644,000 after buying an additional 74 shares during the period. Menard Financial Group LLC grew its stake in shares of Agilent Technologies by 1.6% during the second quarter. Menard Financial Group LLC now owns 4,845 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $628,000 after purchasing an additional 77 shares during the period. Finally, Salem Investment Counselors Inc. grew its stake in shares of Agilent Technologies by 4.4% during the first quarter. Salem Investment Counselors Inc. now owns 2,259 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $329,000 after purchasing an additional 95 shares during the period. 87.42% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Agilent Technologies Stock Performance

Shares of Agilent Technologies stock opened at $144.58 on Wednesday. Agilent Technologies, Inc. has a one year low of $96.80 and a one year high of $155.35. The firm has a market cap of $42.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.18, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.96 and a beta of 1.05. 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 stock’s 50-day moving average is $140.87 and its 200-day moving average is $138.86.

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

Agilent Technologies Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 23rd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, October 1st will be given a dividend of $0.236 per share. This represents a $0.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.65%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, October 1st. Agilent Technologies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 22.22%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Padraig Mcdonnell sold 1,958 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $140.00, for a total value of $274,120.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 26,076 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,650,640. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In related news, SVP Dominique Grau sold 9,990 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 40,011 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,801,595. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Padraig Mcdonnell sold 1,958 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $140.00, for a total value of $274,120.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 26,076 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,650,640. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 13,953 shares of company stock valued at $2,013,630 over the last 90 days. 0.33% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently commented on A. TD Cowen lifted their price objective on Agilent Technologies from $153.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 22nd. Wolfe Research cut Agilent Technologies from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, June 27th. Wells Fargo & Company started coverage on Agilent Technologies in a research note on Tuesday, August 27th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $157.00 price objective for the company. Bank of America lifted their target price on Agilent Technologies from $140.00 to $147.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, August 22nd. Finally, Citigroup lifted their target price on Agilent Technologies from $150.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 22nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $144.36.

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.