Amalgamated Bank Sells 3,892 Shares of Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A)

Amalgamated Bank cut its position in shares of Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A) by 6.2% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 59,198 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 3,892 shares during the quarter. Amalgamated Bank’s holdings in Agilent Technologies were worth $7,674,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in A. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Agilent Technologies by 18.2% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 29,884,345 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $4,348,471,000 after purchasing an additional 4,605,228 shares during the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its stake in Agilent Technologies by 13.9% in the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 8,542,054 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $1,242,956,000 after acquiring an additional 1,042,926 shares during the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its stake in Agilent Technologies by 5.7% in the second quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 15,064,660 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $1,952,832,000 after acquiring an additional 809,149 shares during the last quarter. Meritage Group LP boosted its stake in Agilent Technologies by 28.3% in the fourth quarter. Meritage Group LP now owns 2,116,862 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $294,307,000 after acquiring an additional 467,451 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Oribel Capital Management LP purchased a new position in Agilent Technologies in the fourth quarter valued at about $60,186,000. 87.42% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have weighed in on A. Bank of America boosted their target price on shares of Agilent Technologies from $140.00 to $147.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company began coverage on shares of Agilent Technologies in a research note on Tuesday, August 27th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $157.00 target price on the stock. Evercore ISI boosted their target price on shares of Agilent Technologies from $130.00 to $135.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 22nd. Robert W. Baird dropped their target price on shares of Agilent Technologies from $147.00 to $136.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, May 30th. Finally, UBS Group upped their price target on shares of Agilent Technologies from $141.00 to $150.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 22nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $141.60.

Agilent Technologies Stock Performance

Agilent Technologies stock opened at $141.95 on Friday. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $137.72 and its 200 day simple moving average is $139.27. The firm has a market capitalization of $41.42 billion, a PE ratio of 33.56, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.43 and a beta of 1.05. Agilent Technologies, Inc. has a 1-year low of $96.80 and a 1-year high of $155.35. The company has a current ratio of 1.78, a quick ratio of 1.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36.

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

Agilent Technologies Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 23rd. Investors of record on Tuesday, October 1st will be issued a dividend of $0.236 per share. This represents a $0.94 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.67%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, October 1st. Agilent Technologies’s dividend payout ratio is currently 22.22%.

Insider Activity at Agilent Technologies

In related news, CEO Padraig Mcdonnell sold 1,958 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $145.00, for a total transaction of $283,910.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 24,118 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,497,110. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 0.33% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.