Argent Capital Management LLC Boosts Holdings in Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A)

Argent Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A) by 1.3% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 29,199 shares of the medical research company’s stock after acquiring an additional 373 shares during the quarter. Argent Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Agilent Technologies were worth $3,785,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in Agilent Technologies by 18.2% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 29,884,345 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $4,348,471,000 after buying an additional 4,605,228 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Agilent Technologies in the fourth quarter valued at about $509,904,000. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its holdings in Agilent Technologies by 19.6% in the fourth quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 13,246,489 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $1,841,659,000 after purchasing an additional 2,170,219 shares during the last quarter. Brown Advisory Inc. grew its stake in Agilent Technologies by 262.1% during the 4th quarter. Brown Advisory Inc. now owns 2,292,929 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $318,786,000 after purchasing an additional 1,659,768 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its holdings in Agilent Technologies by 13.9% during the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 8,542,054 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $1,242,956,000 after purchasing an additional 1,042,926 shares during the last quarter. 87.42% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Padraig Mcdonnell sold 1,958 shares of the firm’s 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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 24,118 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,497,110. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In other Agilent Technologies news, CEO Padraig Mcdonnell sold 1,958 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $145.00, for a total value of $283,910.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 24,118 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,497,110. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, SVP Dominique Grau sold 15,000 shares of Agilent Technologies stock in a transaction on Monday, June 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $133.28, for a total value of $1,999,200.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 49,486 shares in the company, valued at $6,595,494.08. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 20,874 shares of company stock valued at $2,811,770 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on A shares. TD Cowen upped their price target on Agilent Technologies from $153.00 to $160.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of Agilent Technologies from $125.00 to $135.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Friday. Evercore ISI boosted their target price on Agilent Technologies from $130.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a report on Thursday. Robert W. Baird decreased their price objective on Agilent Technologies from $147.00 to $136.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, May 30th. Finally, Citigroup lifted their price objective on Agilent Technologies from $150.00 to $165.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Agilent Technologies has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $140.80.

Agilent Technologies Trading Up 0.5 %

Shares of A traded up $0.65 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $140.87. 1,735,656 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,758,116. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $134.16 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $138.54. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a quick ratio of 1.64 and a current ratio of 2.15. The stock has a market capitalization of $41.10 billion, a PE ratio of 33.30, a PEG ratio of 4.86 and a beta of 1.05. Agilent Technologies, Inc. has a 52 week low of $96.80 and a 52 week high of $155.35.

Agilent Technologies (NYSE:A) last released its quarterly 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 net margin of 18.84% and a return on equity of 26.25%. The firm had revenue of $1.58 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.56 billion. The company’s revenue was down 5.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.43 EPS. On average, analysts predict that Agilent Technologies, Inc. will post 5.24 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Agilent Technologies 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.