Congress Asset Management Co. Sells 895 Shares of Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A)

Congress Asset Management Co. decreased its holdings in shares of Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A) by 25.6% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 2,603 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 895 shares during the quarter. Congress Asset Management Co.’s holdings in Agilent Technologies were worth $350,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. CKW Financial Group grew its holdings in Agilent Technologies by 114.9% in the fourth quarter. CKW Financial Group now owns 187 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the period. Global X Japan Co. Ltd. boosted its position in shares of Agilent Technologies by 161.1% during the 4th quarter. Global X Japan Co. Ltd. now owns 188 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 116 shares in the last quarter. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC bought a new stake in Agilent Technologies in the 3rd quarter valued at about $31,000. Fortitude Family Office LLC increased its position 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 buying an additional 95 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Hanson & Doremus Investment Management raised its stake in Agilent Technologies by 66.5% during the 4th quarter. Hanson & Doremus Investment Management now owns 263 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $35,000 after buying an additional 105 shares during the period.

Agilent Technologies Stock Performance

Shares of Agilent Technologies stock opened at $135.11 on Wednesday. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $141.34 and its 200 day simple moving average is $139.34. 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 12 month low of $124.16 and a 12 month high of $155.35. The firm has a market capitalization of $38.55 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.57, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.00 and a beta of 1.07.

Agilent Technologies (NYSE:A) last released its earnings results 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 return on equity of 25.43% and a net margin of 19.80%. The company had revenue of $1.70 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.67 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.38 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up .8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts anticipate that Agilent Technologies, Inc. will post 5.56 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have commented on A shares. Sanford C. Bernstein reduced their price objective on 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. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Agilent Technologies from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 24th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on shares of Agilent Technologies from $157.00 to $155.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, December 9th. Barclays raised shares of Agilent Technologies from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $135.00 to $145.00 in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on shares of Agilent Technologies from $165.00 to $160.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, November 26th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $144.38.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Padraig Mcdonnell sold 1,911 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $150.00, for a total transaction of $286,650.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 39,652 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,947,800. This represents a 4.60 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink.

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.