Eastern Bank Purchases 224 Shares of Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A)

Eastern Bank raised its position in Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A) by 0.2% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 106,758 shares of the medical research company’s stock after acquiring an additional 224 shares during the quarter. Eastern Bank’s holdings in Agilent Technologies were worth $14,342,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Private Advisor Group LLC raised its stake in Agilent Technologies by 7.9% during the 2nd quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 11,405 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $1,478,000 after purchasing an additional 835 shares during the period. Acadian Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in Agilent Technologies by 142.2% during the 2nd quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 7,616 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $985,000 after buying an additional 4,472 shares in the last quarter. Quest Partners LLC grew its holdings in Agilent Technologies by 247.9% during the 2nd quarter. Quest Partners LLC now owns 1,562 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $202,000 after buying an additional 1,113 shares in the last quarter. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC purchased a new position in Agilent Technologies during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $39,000. Finally, Federated Hermes Inc. grew its holdings in Agilent Technologies by 6.6% during the 2nd quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 106,908 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $13,858,000 after buying an additional 6,583 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 87.42% of the company’s stock.

Agilent Technologies Stock Up 3.1 %

NYSE A traded up $4.23 on Monday, reaching $141.70. 1,114,866 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,201,698. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57, a quick ratio of 1.58 and a current ratio of 2.09. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $135.97 and a 200-day moving average price of $136.78. The company has a market cap of $40.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.06, a PEG ratio of 4.48 and a beta of 1.06. Agilent Technologies, Inc. has a 12 month low of $124.16 and a 12 month high of $155.35.

Agilent Technologies (NYSE:A) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, November 25th. The medical research company reported $1.46 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.41 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $1.70 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.67 billion. Agilent Technologies had a return on equity of 25.43% and a net margin of 19.80%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up .8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.38 EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that Agilent Technologies, Inc. will post 5.56 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Agilent Technologies Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 22nd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st will be paid a $0.248 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 31st. This is a boost from Agilent Technologies’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.24. This represents a $0.99 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.70%. Agilent Technologies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 22.40%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have weighed in on the company. Bank of America cut their price target on Agilent Technologies from $153.00 to $150.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday, December 13th. StockNews.com upgraded Agilent Technologies from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 24th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on Agilent Technologies from $157.00 to $155.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, December 9th. Barclays dropped their target price on Agilent Technologies from $145.00 to $135.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, November 27th. Finally, Citigroup lifted their target price on Agilent Technologies to $165.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, December 19th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Agilent Technologies has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $143.62.

Agilent Technologies 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.