Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A) Shares Sold by Rice Partnership LLC

Rice Partnership LLC lessened its stake in Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A) by 6.0% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,049 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 131 shares during the period. Rice Partnership LLC’s holdings in Agilent Technologies were worth $275,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. CKW Financial Group boosted its holdings in Agilent Technologies by 114.9% in the 4th quarter. CKW Financial Group now owns 187 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. Livelsberger Financial Advisory purchased a new stake in Agilent Technologies in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC purchased a new stake in Agilent Technologies in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Fortitude Family Office LLC boosted 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 purchasing an additional 95 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Hanson & Doremus Investment Management boosted its holdings in Agilent Technologies by 66.5% in the 4th quarter. Hanson & Doremus Investment Management now owns 263 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 105 shares in the last quarter.

Agilent Technologies Stock Up 0.2 %

Shares of Agilent Technologies stock opened at $151.75 on Monday. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $140.52 and a 200 day moving average price of $138.85. The company has a current ratio of 2.09, a quick ratio of 1.58 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57. Agilent Technologies, Inc. has a twelve month low of $124.16 and a twelve month high of $155.35. The stock has a market cap of $43.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.33, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.10 and a beta of 1.07.

Agilent Technologies (NYSE:A) last announced its quarterly earnings results 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. Agilent Technologies had a net margin of 19.80% and a return on equity of 25.43%. The firm had revenue of $1.70 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.67 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.38 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up .8% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts forecast that Agilent Technologies, Inc. will post 5.56 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Agilent Technologies Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 22nd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st were given a $0.248 dividend. 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 0.65%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, December 31st. Agilent Technologies’s dividend payout ratio is presently 22.40%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Agilent Technologies

In other news, CEO Padraig Mcdonnell sold 1,911 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $150.00, for a total transaction of $286,650.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 39,652 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,947,800. This trade represents a 4.60 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on A shares. StockNews.com raised Agilent Technologies from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 24th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on Agilent Technologies from $157.00 to $155.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, December 9th. Bank of America decreased their price target on Agilent Technologies from $153.00 to $150.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Barclays decreased their price target on Agilent Technologies from $145.00 to $135.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, November 27th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on Agilent Technologies from $165.00 to $160.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, November 26th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Agilent Technologies presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target 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.