Merit Financial Group LLC Purchases 1,407 Shares of Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A)

Merit Financial Group LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A) by 102.4% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 2,781 shares of the medical research company’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,407 shares during the period. Merit Financial Group LLC’s holdings in Agilent Technologies were worth $374,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Livelsberger Financial Advisory bought a new position in Agilent Technologies in the third quarter worth about $28,000. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC bought a new position in shares of Agilent Technologies during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $31,000. Fortitude Family Office LLC lifted its position in Agilent Technologies by 68.3% during the third quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 234 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $35,000 after acquiring an additional 95 shares during the last quarter. RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC acquired a new stake in Agilent Technologies in the third quarter valued at approximately $38,000. Finally, Venturi Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in Agilent Technologies by 95.9% in the third quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 523 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $78,000 after purchasing an additional 256 shares during the last quarter.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A has been the subject of several analyst reports. Barclays decreased their price objective on Agilent Technologies from $145.00 to $135.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, November 27th. Citigroup raised their price target on Agilent Technologies to $165.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, December 19th. Sanford C. Bernstein cut their price objective on shares of Agilent Technologies from $140.00 to $135.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, November 26th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Agilent Technologies from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 24th. Finally, Bank of America cut their price target on shares of Agilent Technologies from $153.00 to $150.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, December 13th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $143.62.

Insider Activity

In other Agilent Technologies news, CEO Padraig Mcdonnell sold 1,911 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $150.00, for a total transaction of $286,650.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 39,652 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,947,800. This trade represents a 4.60 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink.

Agilent Technologies Stock Down 0.8 %

Shares of A opened at $151.24 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $43.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.22, a PEG ratio of 4.12 and a beta of 1.06. Agilent Technologies, Inc. has a 52 week low of $124.16 and a 52 week high of $155.35. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $137.95 and its 200-day moving average price is $137.89. The company has a quick ratio of 1.58, a current ratio of 2.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57.

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

Agilent Technologies Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 22nd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st were paid a dividend of $0.248 per share. This is a positive change from Agilent Technologies’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.24. This represents a $0.99 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.66%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, December 31st. Agilent Technologies’s dividend payout ratio is presently 22.40%.

Agilent Technologies Company 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.