LGT Capital Partners LTD. Trims Stake in Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A)

LGT Capital Partners LTD. trimmed its stake in Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A) by 24.4% during the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 790,570 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 254,858 shares during the quarter. Agilent Technologies makes up about 4.1% of LGT Capital Partners LTD.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 7th largest holding. LGT Capital Partners LTD. owned about 0.28% of Agilent Technologies worth $117,384,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Livelsberger Financial Advisory acquired a new position in shares of Agilent Technologies in the 3rd quarter valued at $28,000. Crewe Advisors LLC grew its position in Agilent Technologies by 114.8% in the second quarter. Crewe Advisors LLC now owns 189 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 101 shares in the last quarter. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC bought a new stake in shares of Agilent Technologies during the 3rd quarter worth about $31,000. Ridgewood Investments LLC acquired a new position in shares of Agilent Technologies during the 2nd quarter valued at about $29,000. Finally, Fortitude Family Office LLC raised its stake in shares of Agilent Technologies by 68.3% in the 3rd quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 234 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $35,000 after acquiring an additional 95 shares in the last quarter.

Agilent Technologies Stock Down 0.1 %

Shares of NYSE A opened at $126.92 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.37, a current ratio of 1.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $138.50 and its 200 day simple moving average is $137.92. The firm has a market cap of $36.47 billion, a PE ratio of 26.33, a P/E/G ratio of 5.59 and a beta of 1.07. Agilent Technologies, Inc. has a 12-month low of $112.39 and a 12-month high of $155.35.

Agilent Technologies (NYSE:A) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 21st. The medical research company reported $1.32 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.26 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $1.58 billion for 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 business’s revenue for the quarter was down 5.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.43 EPS. As a group, sell-side 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 disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, October 23rd. Investors of record on Tuesday, October 1st were issued a $0.236 dividend. This represents a $0.94 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.74%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, October 1st. Agilent Technologies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 19.50%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on A. Evercore ISI boosted their price objective 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. Wells Fargo & Company initiated coverage on Agilent Technologies in a research report on Tuesday, August 27th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $157.00 price objective for the company. Bank of America raised their target price on Agilent Technologies from $140.00 to $147.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, August 22nd. Stifel Nicolaus reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $151.00 price target on shares of Agilent Technologies in a report on Monday, August 26th. Finally, Citigroup raised their price objective on shares of Agilent Technologies from $150.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 22nd. 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. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $144.36.

Insider Activity

In related news, SVP Dominique Grau sold 9,990 shares of the firm’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 transaction of $1,448,550.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 40,011 shares in the company, valued at $5,801,595. This trade represents a 19.98 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Padraig Mcdonnell sold 1,958 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 $3,497,110. This represents a 7.51 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 11,995 shares of company stock valued at $1,739,510 over the last quarter.

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.