Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A) Shares Sold by Global Trust Asset Management LLC

Global Trust Asset Management LLC reduced its stake in Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A) by 45.7% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 675 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 567 shares during the period. Global Trust Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Agilent Technologies were worth $91,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC raised its position in Agilent Technologies by 0.9% in the fourth quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 105,304 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $14,173,000 after acquiring an additional 901 shares in the last quarter. Perpetual Ltd raised its holdings in shares of Agilent Technologies by 6.4% in the 4th quarter. Perpetual Ltd now owns 41,503 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $5,576,000 after purchasing an additional 2,503 shares in the last quarter. Clarius Group LLC lifted its stake in Agilent Technologies by 8.3% during the fourth quarter. Clarius Group LLC now owns 2,217 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $298,000 after purchasing an additional 170 shares during the last quarter. Aaron Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Agilent Technologies by 19.8% during the fourth quarter. Aaron Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 3,210 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $431,000 after buying an additional 530 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Kera Capital Partners Inc. acquired a new position in Agilent Technologies in the fourth quarter worth approximately $216,000.

Agilent Technologies Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:A opened at $152.87 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $43.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.59, a P/E/G ratio of 3.98 and a beta of 1.06. Agilent Technologies, Inc. has a 1 year low of $124.16 and a 1 year high of $155.35. 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 has a fifty day simple moving average of $137.13 and a 200 day simple moving average of $137.68.

Agilent Technologies (NYSE:A) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, November 25th. The medical research company reported $1.46 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.41 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $1.70 billion during 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 business’s quarterly revenue was up .8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.38 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Agilent Technologies, Inc. will post 5.56 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Agilent Technologies Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 22nd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st were given a $0.248 dividend. This represents a $0.99 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.65%. This is an increase from Agilent Technologies’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.24. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, December 31st. Agilent Technologies’s payout ratio is currently 22.40%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on A shares. Citigroup raised their price objective on Agilent Technologies to $165.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. StockNews.com upgraded Agilent Technologies from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on Agilent Technologies from $165.00 to $160.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, November 26th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased 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. Finally, Barclays cut their price target on shares of Agilent Technologies from $145.00 to $135.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, November 27th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target 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.