Troy Asset Management Ltd Decreases Stock Position in Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A)

Troy Asset Management Ltd decreased its position in shares of Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A) by 8.2% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 960,332 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 85,567 shares during the quarter. Agilent Technologies makes up 4.0% of Troy Asset Management Ltd’s holdings, making the stock its 7th largest holding. Troy Asset Management Ltd owned 0.33% of Agilent Technologies worth $124,488,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Gilbert & Cook Inc. grew its holdings in Agilent Technologies by 12.5% during the 4th quarter. Gilbert & Cook Inc. now owns 2,872 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $399,000 after buying an additional 320 shares in the last quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. grew its stake in Agilent Technologies by 6.8% during the fourth quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. now owns 12,621 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $1,755,000 after acquiring an additional 807 shares in the last quarter. Stifel Financial Corp increased its holdings in Agilent Technologies by 9.6% in the 4th quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 131,080 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $18,229,000 after acquiring an additional 11,498 shares during the last quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System lifted its stake in Agilent Technologies by 1.0% in the 4th quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 469,486 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $65,273,000 after purchasing an additional 4,788 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Jones Financial Companies Lllp purchased a new stake in Agilent Technologies in the 4th quarter worth $49,000. Institutional investors own 87.42% of the company’s stock.

Agilent Technologies Trading Up 0.3 %

Shares of NYSE A opened at $148.48 on Tuesday. Agilent Technologies, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $96.80 and a fifty-two week high of $155.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a quick ratio of 1.37 and a current ratio of 1.78. The company has a market cap of $43.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.10, a PEG ratio of 6.48 and a beta of 1.05. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $139.21 and its 200-day moving average price is $139.01.

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

Agilent Technologies Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 23rd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, October 1st will be paid a $0.236 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, October 1st. This represents a $0.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.64%. Agilent Technologies’s dividend payout ratio is currently 22.22%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Padraig Mcdonnell sold 1,958 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 22nd. The stock was 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 in the company, valued at $3,497,110. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In related news, CEO Padraig Mcdonnell sold 1,958 shares of Agilent Technologies stock in a transaction that occurred 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 directly owns 24,118 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,497,110. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, SVP Dominique Grau sold 9,990 shares of Agilent Technologies stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $145.00, for a total value of $1,448,550.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 40,011 shares in the company, valued at $5,801,595. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 13,953 shares of company stock valued at $2,013,630. Corporate insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on A. Citigroup lifted their target price on Agilent Technologies from $150.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 22nd. Stifel Nicolaus reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $151.00 price objective on shares of Agilent Technologies in a research note on Monday, August 26th. UBS Group increased their target price on Agilent Technologies from $141.00 to $150.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company started coverage on shares of Agilent Technologies in a research report on Tuesday, August 27th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $157.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Wolfe Research lowered shares of Agilent Technologies from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, June 27th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $142.93.

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.