Quest Partners LLC Purchases 1,113 Shares of Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A)

Quest Partners LLC boosted its position in Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A) by 247.9% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 1,562 shares of the medical research company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,113 shares during the quarter. Quest Partners LLC’s holdings in Agilent Technologies were worth $202,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Crewe Advisors LLC raised its position 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 valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 101 shares in the last quarter. Livelsberger Financial Advisory acquired a new position in Agilent Technologies in the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. Ridgewood Investments LLC bought a new stake in shares of Agilent Technologies during the 2nd quarter valued at $29,000. Rise Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Agilent Technologies by 527.8% during the 1st quarter. Rise Advisors LLC now owns 226 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 190 shares in the last quarter. Finally, YHB Investment Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in Agilent Technologies in the first quarter valued at about $34,000. 87.42% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Citigroup raised their target price on shares of Agilent Technologies from $150.00 to $165.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company initiated coverage on Agilent Technologies in a report on Tuesday, August 27th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $157.00 target price on the stock. Barclays boosted their price target on Agilent Technologies from $125.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Friday, August 23rd. Evercore ISI lifted their target price on Agilent Technologies from $130.00 to $135.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 22nd. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reissued a “hold” rating and issued a $135.00 target price (down previously from $152.00) on shares of Agilent Technologies in a report on Monday, June 3rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Agilent Technologies has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $141.60.

Agilent Technologies Price Performance

Shares of A opened at $137.31 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $40.06 billion, a PE ratio of 32.46, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.43 and a beta of 1.05. Agilent Technologies, Inc. has a 52-week low of $96.80 and a 52-week high of $155.35. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $136.75 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $139.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a quick ratio of 1.37 and a current ratio of 1.78.

Agilent Technologies (NYSE:A) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, August 21st. The medical research company reported $1.32 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.26 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $1.58 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.56 billion. Agilent Technologies had a net margin of 21.75% and a return on equity of 25.26%. Agilent Technologies’s quarterly revenue was down 5.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.43 EPS. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Agilent Technologies, Inc. will post 5.24 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Padraig Mcdonnell sold 1,958 shares of Agilent Technologies stock in a transaction on Friday, July 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $140.00, for a total value of $274,120.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 26,076 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,650,640. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.33% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Agilent Technologies Profile

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.