Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich Cuts Stock Holdings in Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A)

Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich lowered its stake in Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A) by 87.8% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,119 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 15,204 shares during the period. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich’s holdings in Agilent Technologies were worth $314,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of A. CKW Financial Group grew 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 worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. Global X Japan Co. Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of Agilent Technologies by 161.1% during the fourth 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 during the period. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC bought a new stake in shares of Agilent Technologies in the third quarter worth about $31,000. Hanson & Doremus Investment Management increased its holdings 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 valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 105 shares during the period. Finally, RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC bought a new position in Agilent Technologies during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $38,000. Institutional investors own 87.42% of the company’s stock.

Agilent Technologies Stock Performance

Shares of A opened at $122.02 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.66, a current ratio of 2.20 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56. The stock has a market cap of $34.79 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.05, a P/E/G ratio of 3.56 and a beta of 1.11. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $139.42 and its 200-day moving average price is $138.55. Agilent Technologies, Inc. has a 52 week low of $121.45 and a 52 week high of $155.35.

Agilent Technologies (NYSE:A) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 26th. The medical research company reported $1.31 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.27 by $0.04. Agilent Technologies had a return on equity of 25.56% and a net margin of 19.27%. The firm had revenue of $1.68 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.67 billion. Equities research analysts anticipate that Agilent Technologies, Inc. will post 5.57 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Agilent Technologies Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 23rd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, April 1st will be paid a dividend of $0.248 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 1st. This represents a $0.99 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.81%. Agilent Technologies’s dividend payout ratio is currently 22.76%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on A shares. Sanford C. Bernstein cut their price objective on Agilent Technologies from $140.00 to $135.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, November 26th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Agilent Technologies from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 24th. Robert W. Baird decreased their price objective on shares of Agilent Technologies from $161.00 to $159.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 27th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped 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 report on Monday, December 9th. Finally, Bank of America reduced their price target on shares of Agilent Technologies from $153.00 to $150.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Agilent Technologies presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $146.15.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related 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 sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 39,652 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,947,800. This trade represents a 4.60 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.26% of the company’s stock.

About Agilent Technologies

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.