KPP Advisory Services LLC Buys 199 Shares of Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A)

KPP Advisory Services LLC lifted its stake in Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A) by 7.0% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 3,056 shares of the medical research company’s stock after acquiring an additional 199 shares during the quarter. KPP Advisory Services LLC’s holdings in Agilent Technologies were worth $410,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Livelsberger Financial Advisory acquired a new position in shares of Agilent Technologies during the third quarter worth approximately $28,000. CKW Financial Group grew its position 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 purchasing an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC acquired a new position in shares of Agilent Technologies during the third quarter valued at about $31,000. Fortitude Family Office LLC lifted its stake in shares of Agilent Technologies by 68.3% in the third 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 during the period. Finally, RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC acquired a new stake in Agilent Technologies during the third quarter worth about $38,000. 87.42% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A has been the subject of a number of research reports. StockNews.com upgraded Agilent Technologies from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 24th. Bank of America dropped 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. Sanford C. Bernstein decreased their target price on shares of 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target 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. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective 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. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $143.62.

Agilent Technologies Stock Performance

Agilent Technologies stock opened at $148.69 on Tuesday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $140.52 and a 200 day simple moving average of $138.85. The stock has a market capitalization of $42.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.64, a P/E/G ratio of 4.10 and a beta of 1.06. The company has a quick ratio of 1.58, a current ratio of 2.09 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.

Agilent Technologies (NYSE:A) last announced its earnings results on Monday, November 25th. The medical research company reported $1.46 earnings per share (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 company had revenue of $1.70 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.67 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.38 earnings per share. Agilent Technologies’s quarterly revenue was up .8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts anticipate that Agilent Technologies, Inc. will post 5.56 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Agilent Technologies Increases Dividend

The company 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 is a boost from Agilent Technologies’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.24. This represents a $0.99 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.67%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, December 31st. Agilent Technologies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 22.40%.

Insider Transactions at Agilent Technologies

In other Agilent Technologies news, CEO Padraig Mcdonnell sold 1,911 shares of Agilent Technologies stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $150.00, for a total transaction of $286,650.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 39,652 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,947,800. The trade was a 4.60 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.33% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.