Congress Asset Management Co. Sells 95 Shares of Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A)

Congress Asset Management Co. trimmed its position in shares of Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A) by 2.6% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 3,498 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 95 shares during the period. Congress Asset Management Co.’s holdings in Agilent Technologies were worth $519,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vinland Capital Management Gestora de Recursos LTDA. acquired a new position in shares of Agilent Technologies during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $995,000. Financial Advocates Investment Management raised its position in shares of Agilent Technologies by 14.9% in the third quarter. Financial Advocates Investment Management now owns 3,087 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $458,000 after purchasing an additional 401 shares during the period. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. lifted its stake in shares of Agilent Technologies by 5.0% during the 3rd quarter. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. now owns 7,661 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $1,138,000 after buying an additional 366 shares during the last quarter. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Agilent Technologies by 57.4% during the 3rd quarter. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC now owns 2,845 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $422,000 after buying an additional 1,037 shares during the period. Finally, Integrated Advisors Network LLC grew its stake in Agilent Technologies by 2.5% in the 3rd quarter. Integrated Advisors Network LLC now owns 3,582 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $532,000 after buying an additional 86 shares during the last quarter.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Stifel Nicolaus reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $151.00 target price on shares of Agilent Technologies in a research note on Monday, August 26th. UBS Group lifted their target price on Agilent Technologies from $141.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, August 22nd. Citigroup upped their price target on shares of Agilent Technologies from $150.00 to $165.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company assumed coverage on shares of Agilent Technologies in a research note on Tuesday, August 27th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $157.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Barclays increased their target price on shares of Agilent Technologies from $135.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 15th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $144.36.

Agilent Technologies Stock Up 5.0 %

Shares of NYSE A opened at $136.87 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $39.33 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.40, a PEG ratio of 6.31 and a beta of 1.05. 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, Inc. has a 12 month low of $102.70 and a 12 month high of $155.35. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $139.73 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $138.05.

Agilent Technologies (NYSE:A) last issued 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 business had revenue of $1.58 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.56 billion. Agilent Technologies had a net margin of 21.75% and a return on equity of 25.26%. The firm’s revenue was down 5.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.43 EPS. As a group, analysts forecast that Agilent Technologies, Inc. will post 5.24 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Agilent Technologies Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, October 23rd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, October 1st were given a $0.236 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, October 1st. This represents a $0.94 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.69%. Agilent Technologies’s dividend payout ratio is presently 19.50%.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Dominique Grau sold 9,990 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 26th. The stock was 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $5,801,595. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In related news, SVP Dominique Grau sold 9,990 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $145.00, for a total value of $1,448,550.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 40,011 shares in the company, valued at $5,801,595. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, 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 value of $283,910.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 24,118 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,497,110. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 11,995 shares of company stock valued at $1,739,510.

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.