Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. Has $3.88 Million Stock Position in Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A)

Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. increased its stake in Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A) by 26.4% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 26,103 shares of the medical research company’s stock after buying an additional 5,450 shares during the quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc.’s holdings in Agilent Technologies were worth $3,876,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in A. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in Agilent Technologies by 18.2% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 29,884,345 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $4,348,471,000 after acquiring an additional 4,605,228 shares during the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its stake in Agilent Technologies by 13.9% in the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 8,542,054 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $1,242,956,000 after purchasing an additional 1,042,926 shares during the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its holdings in Agilent Technologies by 5.7% during the second quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 15,064,660 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $1,952,832,000 after purchasing an additional 809,149 shares during the period. Champlain Investment Partners LLC acquired a new position in Agilent Technologies during the first quarter worth approximately $61,218,000. Finally, Marshall Wace LLP raised its stake in Agilent Technologies by 48.6% in the second quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 957,128 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $124,073,000 after buying an additional 313,155 shares during the period.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently commented on A. Wells Fargo & Company assumed coverage on Agilent Technologies in a research note on Tuesday, August 27th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $157.00 target price for the company. Citigroup upped their price objective on shares of Agilent Technologies from $150.00 to $165.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 22nd. Stifel Nicolaus restated a “buy” rating and set a $151.00 target price on shares of Agilent Technologies in a research note on Monday, August 26th. Bank of America upped their price target 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. Finally, UBS Group raised their price objective on shares of Agilent Technologies from $141.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 22nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $144.36.

Insider Activity at Agilent Technologies

In related news, CEO Padraig Mcdonnell sold 1,958 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 24,118 shares in the company, valued at $3,497,110. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In related news, CEO Padraig Mcdonnell sold 1,958 shares of Agilent Technologies stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $145.00, for a total transaction of $283,910.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 24,118 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,497,110. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, 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 transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 40,011 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,801,595. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 11,995 shares of company stock valued at $1,739,510 over the last three months.

Agilent Technologies Price Performance

Agilent Technologies stock opened at $133.86 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $38.46 billion, a PE ratio of 27.77, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.01 and a beta of 1.07. 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 fifty day moving average price is $139.46 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $138.21. Agilent Technologies, Inc. has a one year low of $106.96 and a one year high of $155.35.

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

Agilent Technologies Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, October 23rd. Investors of record on Tuesday, October 1st were given a dividend of $0.236 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, October 1st. This represents a $0.94 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.71%. Agilent Technologies’s dividend payout ratio is 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.