Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A) Stock Position Reduced by Rhumbline Advisers

Rhumbline Advisers cut its stake in shares of Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A) by 2.0% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 553,874 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 11,063 shares during the period. Rhumbline Advisers’ holdings in Agilent Technologies were worth $74,407,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. AMF Tjanstepension AB bought a new stake in Agilent Technologies in the third quarter worth approximately $2,726,000. Creative Planning lifted its stake in shares of Agilent Technologies by 5.9% in the third quarter. Creative Planning now owns 44,910 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $6,668,000 after buying an additional 2,498 shares during the last quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of Agilent Technologies by 3.2% in the third quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 2,570 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $382,000 after buying an additional 79 shares during the last quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd lifted its stake in shares of Agilent Technologies by 2.0% in the third quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd now owns 37,737 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $5,603,000 after buying an additional 757 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Net Worth Advisory Group acquired a new stake in shares of Agilent Technologies in the third quarter worth $613,000. 87.42% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on A. Bank of America reduced their price objective on shares of Agilent Technologies from $153.00 to $150.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, December 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on shares of Agilent Technologies from $165.00 to $160.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, November 26th. Barclays upgraded shares of Agilent Technologies from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $135.00 to $145.00 in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Sanford C. Bernstein reduced their price objective on shares of Agilent Technologies from $140.00 to $135.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, November 26th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on shares of Agilent Technologies from $157.00 to $155.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, December 9th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $144.38.

Agilent Technologies Stock Down 1.4 %

Shares of NYSE:A opened at $134.57 on Monday. Agilent Technologies, Inc. has a 12 month low of $124.16 and a 12 month high of $155.35. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $141.53 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $139.41. The company has a quick ratio of 1.58, a current ratio of 2.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57. The firm has a market cap of $38.39 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.45, a P/E/G ratio of 4.00 and a beta of 1.07.

Agilent Technologies (NYSE:A) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, November 25th. The medical research company reported $1.46 EPS 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.67 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.38 EPS. The company’s revenue was up .8% on a year-over-year basis. 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 announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 22nd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st were paid a $0.248 dividend. This represents a $0.99 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.74%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, December 31st. This is a positive change from Agilent Technologies’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.24. Agilent Technologies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 22.40%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Padraig Mcdonnell sold 1,911 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $150.00, for a total value 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 position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.26% of the company’s stock.

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.