Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A) Shares Sold by Franklin Resources Inc.

Franklin Resources Inc. trimmed its holdings in Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A) by 9.4% in the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,781,243 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 183,875 shares during the quarter. Franklin Resources Inc.’s holdings in Agilent Technologies were worth $256,943,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Van ECK Associates Corp lifted its stake in Agilent Technologies by 6.6% during the third quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 2,976,905 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $442,011,000 after purchasing an additional 183,716 shares during the last quarter. AXA S.A. lifted its position in shares of Agilent Technologies by 32.3% during the 2nd quarter. AXA S.A. now owns 362,945 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $47,049,000 after acquiring an additional 88,667 shares during the last quarter. Vestal Point Capital LP bought a new stake in shares of Agilent Technologies during the 3rd quarter worth $14,848,000. Empowered Funds LLC grew its holdings in shares of Agilent Technologies by 29.8% in the 3rd quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 30,978 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $4,592,000 after acquiring an additional 7,111 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its position in shares of Agilent Technologies by 5.7% during the second quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 15,064,660 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $1,952,832,000 after purchasing an additional 809,149 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 87.42% of the company’s stock.

Agilent Technologies Price Performance

A opened at $139.00 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 2.09, a quick ratio of 1.58 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57. Agilent Technologies, Inc. has a 1 year low of $124.16 and a 1 year high of $155.35. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $136.75 and a 200 day moving average price of $136.44. The stock has a market cap of $39.94 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.45, a PEG ratio of 4.48 and a beta of 1.07.

Agilent Technologies (NYSE:A) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, November 25th. The medical research company reported $1.46 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.41 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $1.70 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations 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% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.38 EPS. Analysts forecast that Agilent Technologies, Inc. will post 5.56 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Agilent Technologies Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 22nd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st will be issued a dividend of $0.248 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 31st. This represents a $0.99 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.71%. This is an increase from Agilent Technologies’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.24. Agilent Technologies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 22.40%.

Insider Activity at Agilent Technologies

In related news, SVP Dominique Grau sold 9,990 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $145.00, for a total value of $1,448,550.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 40,011 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,801,595. The trade was a 19.98 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 0.33% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on A shares. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on Agilent Technologies from $157.00 to $155.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, December 9th. Citigroup lifted their target price on shares of Agilent Technologies from $150.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 22nd. Evercore ISI upped their price target on shares of Agilent Technologies from $135.00 to $145.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 1st. TD Cowen lifted their price objective on shares of Agilent Technologies from $153.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 22nd. Finally, Barclays cut their target price on shares of Agilent Technologies from $145.00 to $135.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, November 27th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $143.62.

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.