Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A) VP Sells $232,737.84 in Stock

Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A) VP Rodney Gonsalves sold 1,908 shares of Agilent Technologies stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $121.98, for a total transaction of $232,737.84. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 21,786 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,657,456.28. This trade represents a 8.05 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link.

Agilent Technologies Trading Down 1.6 %

Shares of A stock opened at $120.23 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $34.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.64, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.45 and a beta of 1.11. The company has a quick ratio of 1.66, a current ratio of 2.20 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56. Agilent Technologies, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $117.17 and a fifty-two week high of $155.35. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $137.07 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $137.45.

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

Agilent Technologies Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 23rd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, April 1st will be given 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 0.83%. Agilent Technologies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 22.76%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. 111 Capital acquired a new position in shares of Agilent Technologies during the fourth quarter worth $668,000. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC lifted its position in shares of Agilent Technologies by 32.9% during the fourth quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 27,563 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $3,703,000 after purchasing an additional 6,828 shares in the last quarter. Lansforsakringar Fondforvaltning AB publ acquired a new position in shares of Agilent Technologies during the fourth quarter worth $12,804,000. PKO Investment Management Joint Stock Co acquired a new position in shares of Agilent Technologies during the fourth quarter worth $484,000. Finally, Wood Tarver Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Agilent Technologies during the fourth quarter worth $34,000. 87.42% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently commented on A. Bank of America lowered their price target on shares of 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 shares of Agilent Technologies from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 24th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on shares of Agilent Technologies from $157.00 to $155.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, December 9th. Sanford C. Bernstein lowered their target price on shares of Agilent Technologies from $140.00 to $135.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, November 26th. Finally, Robert W. Baird lowered their target price 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. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $146.15.

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.