Baker Avenue Asset Management LP Trims Stake in Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A)

Baker Avenue Asset Management LP cut its holdings in shares of Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A) by 0.5% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 29,495 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 157 shares during the period. Baker Avenue Asset Management LP’s holdings in Agilent Technologies were worth $4,379,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Norden Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Agilent Technologies during the first quarter worth about $342,000. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Agilent Technologies by 46.6% during the first quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. now owns 33,661 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $4,898,000 after purchasing an additional 10,700 shares during the period. Quantbot Technologies LP purchased a new stake in Agilent Technologies in the first quarter valued at approximately $938,000. Empowered Funds LLC increased its holdings in Agilent Technologies by 15.3% in the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 21,365 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $3,104,000 after buying an additional 2,837 shares during the period. Finally, Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. lifted its stake in Agilent Technologies by 1.4% during the 1st quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. now owns 10,790 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $1,570,000 after acquiring an additional 146 shares during the period.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Agilent Technologies news, SVP Dominique Grau sold 9,990 shares of Agilent Technologies 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 sale, the senior vice president now owns 40,011 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,801,595. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, SVP Dominique Grau sold 9,990 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the senior vice president now owns 40,011 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,801,595. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, 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 sale, the chief executive officer now owns 24,118 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,497,110. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 11,995 shares of company stock valued at $1,739,510 over the last three months.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Bank of America lifted their price target on Agilent Technologies from $140.00 to $147.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 22nd. Evercore ISI increased 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, October 1st. UBS Group upped their price target 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 target price on Agilent Technologies from $150.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 22nd. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $151.00 price target on shares of Agilent Technologies in a research note on Monday, August 26th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $144.36.

Agilent Technologies Stock Down 2.1 %

Shares of A traded down $2.95 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $136.68. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,918,633 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,560,934. The company’s 50 day moving average is $139.46 and its 200 day moving average is $138.21. The stock has a market cap of $39.27 billion, a PE ratio of 28.36, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.06 and a beta of 1.07. Agilent Technologies, Inc. has a 12-month low of $104.09 and a 12-month high of $155.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a current ratio of 1.78 and a quick ratio of 1.37.

Agilent Technologies (NYSE:A) last posted its 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. The business had revenue of $1.58 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations 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 in the previous year, the firm earned $1.43 earnings per share. Equities analysts anticipate that Agilent Technologies, Inc. will post 5.24 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Agilent Technologies Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, October 23rd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, October 1st were paid a dividend of $0.236 per share. This represents a $0.94 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.69%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, October 1st. Agilent Technologies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 19.50%.

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.