Los Angeles Capital Management LLC Sells 8,710 Shares of Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A)

Los Angeles Capital Management LLC cut its position in shares of Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A) by 72.6% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 3,289 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 8,710 shares during the period. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Agilent Technologies were worth $426,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Quantbot Technologies LP bought a new position in shares of Agilent Technologies in the 1st quarter valued at about $938,000. Cetera Investment Advisers boosted its holdings in shares of Agilent Technologies by 953.3% in the 1st quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 32,694 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $4,757,000 after purchasing an additional 29,590 shares during the period. UBS Group AG increased its position in shares of Agilent Technologies by 84.5% during the 4th quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 325,695 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $45,281,000 after purchasing an additional 149,159 shares during the last quarter. TD Asset Management Inc raised its holdings in Agilent Technologies by 27.1% during the 4th quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 1,609,420 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $223,758,000 after buying an additional 343,175 shares during the period. Finally, iA Global Asset Management Inc. lifted its position in Agilent Technologies by 26.2% in the first quarter. iA Global Asset Management Inc. now owns 21,770 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $3,168,000 after buying an additional 4,523 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.42% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Padraig Mcdonnell sold 1,958 shares of Agilent Technologies stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $140.00, for a total transaction 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 $3,650,640. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 0.33% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Agilent Technologies Trading Up 0.7 %

NYSE:A opened at $137.31 on Friday. Agilent Technologies, Inc. has a 52 week low of $96.80 and a 52 week high of $155.35. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $136.75 and a 200 day moving average of $139.23. The company has a quick ratio of 1.37, a current ratio of 1.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36. The stock has a market capitalization of $40.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.46, a PEG ratio of 6.43 and a beta of 1.05.

Agilent Technologies (NYSE:A) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 21st. The medical research company reported $1.32 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.26 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $1.58 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.56 billion. Agilent Technologies had a net margin of 21.75% and a return on equity of 25.26%. Agilent Technologies’s revenue was down 5.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.43 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Agilent Technologies, Inc. will post 5.24 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have weighed in on A shares. TD Cowen increased their target price on shares of Agilent Technologies from $153.00 to $160.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 22nd. Wolfe Research lowered shares of Agilent Technologies from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, June 27th. Wells Fargo & Company assumed coverage on shares of Agilent Technologies in a research note on Tuesday, August 27th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $157.00 price target for the company. Citigroup increased their price objective on Agilent Technologies from $150.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 22nd. Finally, Evercore ISI raised their price objective on Agilent Technologies from $130.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a report on Thursday, August 22nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $141.60.

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.