Bleakley Financial Group LLC Sells 96 Shares of Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A)

Bleakley Financial Group LLC trimmed its holdings in shares of Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A) by 2.2% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 4,338 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 96 shares during the quarter. Bleakley Financial Group LLC’s holdings in Agilent Technologies were worth $583,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in A. McAdam LLC raised its stake in shares of Agilent Technologies by 3.1% in the third quarter. McAdam LLC now owns 2,531 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $376,000 after acquiring an additional 77 shares during the period. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. raised its position in Agilent Technologies by 13.5% in the 3rd quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. now owns 646 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $96,000 after purchasing an additional 77 shares during the period. Global Retirement Partners LLC lifted its stake in Agilent Technologies by 3.2% in the third quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 2,570 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $382,000 after purchasing an additional 79 shares during the last quarter. Rovin Capital UT ADV boosted its position in shares of Agilent Technologies by 1.6% during the third quarter. Rovin Capital UT ADV now owns 5,049 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $750,000 after buying an additional 81 shares during the period. Finally, Marshall Financial Group LLC boosted its position in shares of Agilent Technologies by 1.0% during the third quarter. Marshall Financial Group LLC now owns 8,243 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $1,224,000 after buying an additional 82 shares during the period.

Agilent Technologies Stock Down 1.6 %

Shares of NYSE A opened at $145.21 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $41.43 billion, a PE ratio of 32.85, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.00 and a beta of 1.07. The company has a current ratio of 2.09, a quick ratio of 1.58 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57. Agilent Technologies, Inc. has a 12-month low of $124.16 and a 12-month high of $155.35. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $141.59 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $139.34.

Agilent Technologies (NYSE:A) last posted its earnings results on Monday, November 25th. The medical research company reported $1.46 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.41 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $1.70 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.67 billion. Agilent Technologies had a return on equity of 25.43% and a net margin of 19.80%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up .8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.38 earnings per share. As a group, analysts expect that Agilent Technologies, Inc. will post 5.56 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Agilent Technologies Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 22nd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st were paid a $0.248 dividend. This represents a $0.99 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.68%. This is an increase from Agilent Technologies’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.24. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, December 31st. Agilent Technologies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 22.40%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Agilent Technologies news, CEO Padraig Mcdonnell sold 1,911 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $150.00, for a total transaction of $286,650.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 39,652 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,947,800. This represents a 4.60 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Citigroup raised their price target on Agilent Technologies to $165.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on Agilent Technologies from $157.00 to $155.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, December 9th. Barclays reduced their price target on shares of Agilent Technologies from $145.00 to $135.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, November 27th. Bank of America lowered their price objective on shares of Agilent Technologies from $153.00 to $150.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein reduced their target price on shares of Agilent Technologies from $140.00 to $135.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, November 26th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $143.62.

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.