Yousif Capital Management LLC Reduces Stock Position in Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A)

Yousif Capital Management LLC trimmed its position in Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A) by 4.4% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 32,511 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 1,504 shares during the period. Yousif Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Agilent Technologies were worth $4,368,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. CKW Financial Group increased its stake in shares of Agilent Technologies by 114.9% during the 4th quarter. CKW Financial Group now owns 187 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. Livelsberger Financial Advisory acquired a new position in shares of Agilent Technologies during the 3rd quarter valued at $28,000. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC acquired a new position in shares of Agilent Technologies during the third quarter worth about $31,000. Fortitude Family Office LLC boosted its holdings 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 worth $35,000 after acquiring an additional 95 shares during the period. Finally, Hanson & Doremus Investment Management boosted its stake in shares of Agilent Technologies by 66.5% in the fourth 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. 87.42% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Agilent Technologies Stock Down 1.6 %

NYSE:A opened at $145.21 on Friday. Agilent Technologies, Inc. has a 1-year low of $124.16 and a 1-year high of $155.35. The firm has a market capitalization of $41.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.85, a PEG ratio of 4.10 and a beta of 1.07. The company has a current ratio of 2.09, a quick ratio of 1.58 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $141.44 and its 200 day moving average price is $139.19.

Agilent Technologies (NYSE:A) last issued its earnings results on Monday, November 25th. The medical research company reported $1.46 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.41 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $1.70 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.67 billion. Agilent Technologies had a return on equity of 25.43% and a net margin of 19.80%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up .8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.38 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Agilent Technologies, Inc. will post 5.56 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Agilent Technologies Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 22nd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st were paid a dividend of $0.248 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, December 31st. This represents a $0.99 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.68%. 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%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Sanford C. Bernstein lowered 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on Agilent Technologies from $165.00 to $160.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, November 26th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target 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. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Agilent Technologies from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 24th. Finally, Citigroup boosted their price target on shares of Agilent Technologies to $165.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Agilent Technologies presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $143.62.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Padraig Mcdonnell sold 1,911 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $150.00, for a total value 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 sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 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.