Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI Makes New Investment in Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A)

Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI acquired a new position in Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A) in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor acquired 1,454 shares of the medical research company’s stock, valued at approximately $216,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of A. Western Pacific Wealth Management LP lifted its holdings in 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 worth $64,000 after purchasing an additional 70 shares in the last quarter. Menard Financial Group LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Agilent Technologies by 1.6% in the second quarter. Menard Financial Group LLC now owns 4,845 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $628,000 after buying an additional 77 shares in the last quarter. McAdam LLC boosted its position in shares of Agilent Technologies by 3.1% during the third quarter. McAdam LLC now owns 2,531 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $376,000 after acquiring an additional 77 shares during the last quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC grew its stake in Agilent Technologies by 3.2% during the third quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 2,570 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $382,000 after acquiring an additional 79 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Rovin Capital UT ADV grew its stake in Agilent Technologies by 1.6% during the third quarter. Rovin Capital UT ADV now owns 5,049 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $750,000 after acquiring an additional 81 shares in the last quarter. 87.42% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Agilent Technologies Trading Up 1.3 %

A opened at $133.84 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a quick ratio of 1.37 and a current ratio of 1.78. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $137.90 and its 200-day moving average price is $137.65. Agilent Technologies, Inc. has a one year low of $123.48 and a one year high of $155.35. The stock has a market cap of $38.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.77, a P/E/G ratio of 5.81 and a beta of 1.07.

Agilent Technologies (NYSE:A) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 21st. The medical research company reported $1.32 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 company had revenue of $1.58 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.56 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.43 EPS. Agilent Technologies’s quarterly revenue was down 5.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts forecast that Agilent Technologies, Inc. will post 5.24 EPS for the current year.

Agilent Technologies Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 22nd. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 31st will be paid a $0.248 dividend. This represents a $0.99 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.74%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 31st. This is an increase from Agilent Technologies’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.24. Agilent Technologies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 20.54%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A has been the subject of several research reports. Bank of America increased their price objective 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. TD Cowen raised their price target on Agilent Technologies from $153.00 to $160.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company initiated coverage on Agilent Technologies in a report on Tuesday, August 27th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $157.00 price objective on the stock. Evercore ISI boosted their price target on shares of Agilent Technologies from $135.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 1st. Finally, Citigroup upped their price target on shares of Agilent Technologies from $150.00 to $165.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 22nd. One research 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $144.36.

Insider Activity at Agilent Technologies

In other Agilent Technologies news, SVP Dominique Grau sold 9,990 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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. This represents a 19.98 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.33% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.