Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. Decreases Stock Position in Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A)

Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. lowered its stake in Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A) by 30.3% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 145,840 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 63,338 shares during the quarter. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. owned about 0.05% of Agilent Technologies worth $21,654,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Natixis Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Agilent Technologies by 15.7% in the 3rd quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 113,991 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $16,926,000 after buying an additional 15,435 shares during the last quarter. Archer Investment Corp bought a new stake in shares of Agilent Technologies in the 3rd quarter worth about $288,000. Empowered Funds LLC increased its holdings in shares of Agilent Technologies by 29.8% in the 3rd quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 30,978 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $4,592,000 after buying an additional 7,111 shares during the last quarter. Empirical Finance LLC increased its holdings in shares of Agilent Technologies by 2.0% in the 3rd quarter. Empirical Finance LLC now owns 10,231 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $1,519,000 after buying an additional 196 shares during the last quarter. Finally, CIBC Asset Management Inc increased its holdings in shares of Agilent Technologies by 7.9% in the 3rd quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 43,158 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $6,408,000 after buying an additional 3,152 shares during the last quarter.

Agilent Technologies Price Performance

Shares of A opened at $127.07 on Monday. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $138.73 and a 200-day moving average price of $138.00. Agilent Technologies, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $112.06 and a fifty-two week high of $155.35. The stock has a market capitalization of $36.51 billion, a PE ratio of 26.36, a PEG ratio of 5.59 and a beta of 1.07. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a quick ratio of 1.37 and a current ratio of 1.78.

Agilent Technologies (NYSE:A) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 21st. The medical research company reported $1.32 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.26 by $0.06. Agilent Technologies had a net margin of 21.75% and a return on equity of 25.26%. The firm had revenue of $1.58 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.56 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.43 EPS. The company’s revenue was down 5.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts predict that Agilent Technologies, Inc. will post 5.24 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Agilent Technologies Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, October 23rd. Stockholders 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 dividend yield of 0.74%. Agilent Technologies’s payout ratio is presently 19.50%.

Insider Transactions at Agilent Technologies

In related news, SVP Dominique Grau sold 9,990 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 40,011 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,801,595. This represents a 19.98 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Padraig Mcdonnell sold 1,958 shares of the 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 directly owns 24,118 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,497,110. The trade was a 7.51 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 11,995 shares of company stock valued at $1,739,510.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on A. UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of Agilent Technologies from $141.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, August 22nd. Bank of America upped their price target on shares of 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. 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 report on Thursday, August 22nd. Finally, TD Cowen upped their price target on shares of Agilent Technologies from $153.00 to $160.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 22nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $144.36.

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.