Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A) Shares Sold by Saturna Capital Corp

Saturna Capital Corp reduced its stake in shares of Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A) by 1.4% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 893,136 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 12,550 shares during the period. Agilent Technologies comprises approximately 1.6% of Saturna Capital Corp’s holdings, making the stock its 23rd biggest position. Saturna Capital Corp owned 0.31% of Agilent Technologies worth $119,984,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of A. HighTower Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Agilent Technologies by 6.6% in the 4th quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 71,413 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $9,594,000 after acquiring an additional 4,432 shares during the last quarter. Natural Investments LLC acquired a new position in Agilent Technologies in the fourth quarter worth $416,000. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI increased its stake in Agilent Technologies by 57.9% during the fourth quarter. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI now owns 2,296 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $308,000 after purchasing an additional 842 shares during the last quarter. Sage Mountain Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Agilent Technologies by 47.8% during the fourth quarter. Sage Mountain Advisors LLC now owns 1,995 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $268,000 after purchasing an additional 645 shares during the period. Finally, Independent Advisor Alliance lifted its position in shares of Agilent Technologies by 64.6% in the 4th quarter. Independent Advisor Alliance now owns 2,397 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $322,000 after buying an additional 941 shares during the last quarter.

Insider Activity at Agilent Technologies

In other Agilent Technologies news, CEO Padraig Mcdonnell sold 1,911 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 39,652 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,947,800. The trade was a 4.60 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink.

Agilent Technologies Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:A opened at $121.15 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $34.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.85, a PEG ratio of 3.42 and a beta of 1.11. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56, a current ratio of 2.20 and a quick ratio of 1.66. Agilent Technologies, Inc. has a 12 month low of $119.30 and a 12 month high of $155.35. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $139.16 and its 200 day moving average price is $138.41.

Agilent Technologies (NYSE:A) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 26th. The medical research company reported $1.31 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.27 by $0.04. Agilent Technologies had a return on equity of 25.56% and a net margin of 19.27%. The business had revenue of $1.68 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.67 billion. Equities research analysts anticipate that Agilent Technologies, Inc. will post 5.57 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Agilent Technologies Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 23rd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, April 1st will be paid a dividend of $0.248 per share. This represents a $0.99 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.82%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 1st. Agilent Technologies’s dividend payout ratio is presently 22.76%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on A. StockNews.com raised shares of Agilent Technologies from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 24th. Citigroup upped their target price on Agilent Technologies to $165.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, December 19th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on Agilent Technologies from $165.00 to $160.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, November 26th. Sanford C. Bernstein lowered their price target on shares of Agilent Technologies from $140.00 to $135.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, November 26th. Finally, Bank of America cut their price objective on shares of Agilent Technologies from $153.00 to $150.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Agilent Technologies presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $146.15.

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.