Anchor Investment Management LLC Trims Stake in Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A)

Anchor Investment Management LLC lessened its stake in Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A) by 31.0% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 390 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 175 shares during the period. Anchor Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Agilent Technologies were worth $51,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in A. Jones Financial Companies Lllp acquired a new position in Agilent Technologies in the 4th quarter worth about $49,000. Lake Street Advisors Group LLC acquired a new stake in Agilent Technologies in the 4th quarter valued at $218,000. Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado increased its holdings in Agilent Technologies by 1,027.2% in the 4th quarter. Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado now owns 43,914 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $6,105,000 after acquiring an additional 40,018 shares in the last quarter. Cibc World Markets Corp raised its position in Agilent Technologies by 131.0% during the fourth quarter. Cibc World Markets Corp now owns 37,668 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $5,237,000 after acquiring an additional 21,365 shares during the period. Finally, Pinebridge Investments L.P. lifted its holdings in Agilent Technologies by 10.2% during the fourth quarter. Pinebridge Investments L.P. now owns 21,136 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $2,938,000 after purchasing an additional 1,963 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.42% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Agilent Technologies news, CEO Padraig Mcdonnell sold 1,958 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, July 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $140.00, for a total transaction of $274,120.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 26,076 shares in the company, valued at $3,650,640. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other news, CEO Padraig Mcdonnell sold 1,958 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $140.00, for a total transaction of $274,120.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 26,076 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,650,640. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, SVP Dominique Grau sold 9,990 shares of Agilent Technologies stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $145.00, for a total transaction of $1,448,550.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 40,011 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,801,595. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 13,953 shares of company stock valued at $2,013,630 over the last 90 days. 0.33% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently commented on the stock. Evercore ISI boosted their target price on shares of Agilent Technologies from $135.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Wells Fargo & Company began coverage on Agilent Technologies in a research note on Tuesday, August 27th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $157.00 price objective for the company. TD Cowen raised their target price on Agilent Technologies from $153.00 to $160.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 22nd. UBS Group boosted their price target on Agilent Technologies from $141.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 22nd. Finally, Bank of America increased their price objective on Agilent Technologies from $140.00 to $147.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 22nd. 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $143.64.

Agilent Technologies Price Performance

Agilent Technologies stock opened at $144.97 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.78, a quick ratio of 1.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $140.12 and a 200 day moving average price of $139.09. Agilent Technologies, Inc. has a 12-month low of $96.80 and a 12-month high of $155.35. The stock has a market cap of $42.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.27, a PEG ratio of 6.48 and a beta of 1.05.

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

Agilent Technologies Announces Dividend

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 given 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 0.65%. Agilent Technologies’s payout ratio is currently 22.22%.

About Agilent Technologies

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.