Vestal Point Capital LP Acquires New Shares in Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A)

Vestal Point Capital LP bought a new position in shares of Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A) during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm bought 100,000 shares of the medical research company’s stock, valued at approximately $14,848,000. Agilent Technologies comprises 1.1% of Vestal Point Capital LP’s holdings, making the stock its 26th largest holding.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of A. Livelsberger Financial Advisory bought a new stake in shares of Agilent Technologies in the 3rd quarter valued at $28,000. Crewe Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Agilent Technologies by 114.8% in the second quarter. Crewe Advisors LLC now owns 189 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 101 shares in the last quarter. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Agilent Technologies during the third quarter worth about $31,000. Ridgewood Investments LLC bought a new position in shares of Agilent Technologies during the 2nd quarter valued at about $29,000. Finally, Fortitude Family Office LLC grew its position in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 95 shares during the period. 87.42% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have commented on A. TD Cowen raised their target price on shares of Agilent Technologies from $153.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 22nd. Stifel Nicolaus reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $151.00 price objective on shares of Agilent Technologies in a research report on Monday, August 26th. Sanford C. Bernstein lowered their target price on Agilent Technologies from $140.00 to $135.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday. Bank of America lifted their price target on Agilent Technologies from $140.00 to $147.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 22nd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company began coverage on Agilent Technologies in a research report on Tuesday, August 27th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $157.00 price objective for the company. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Agilent Technologies currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $143.40.

Agilent Technologies Price Performance

Shares of NYSE A opened at $138.14 on Friday. The business’s 50 day moving average is $137.65 and its 200-day moving average is $137.44. The firm has a market cap of $39.69 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.66, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.91 and a beta of 1.07. Agilent Technologies, Inc. has a 1-year low of $124.10 and a 1-year high of $155.35. The company has a current ratio of 1.78, a quick ratio of 1.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36.

Agilent Technologies Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 22nd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st will be given a $0.248 dividend. This represents a $0.99 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.72%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, December 31st. This is a boost from Agilent Technologies’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.24. Agilent Technologies’s payout ratio is presently 20.54%.

Insider Activity at Agilent Technologies

In other news, SVP Dominique Grau sold 9,990 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $145.00, for a total transaction of $1,448,550.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 40,011 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,801,595. This represents a 19.98 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 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.