Vestcor Inc Raises Stock Holdings in Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A)

Vestcor Inc grew its position in Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A) by 47.9% during the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 18,205 shares of the medical research company’s stock after buying an additional 5,896 shares during the quarter. Vestcor Inc’s holdings in Agilent Technologies were worth $2,703,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Crewe Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Agilent Technologies by 114.8% in the second quarter. Crewe Advisors LLC now owns 189 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 101 shares during the last quarter. Livelsberger Financial Advisory acquired a new stake in shares of Agilent Technologies in the third quarter valued at $28,000. Ridgewood Investments LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Agilent Technologies in the second quarter valued at $29,000. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC purchased a new position in Agilent Technologies in the third quarter valued at $31,000. Finally, Fortitude Family Office LLC boosted its holdings in Agilent Technologies by 68.3% in the third quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 234 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 95 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.42% of the company’s stock.

Agilent Technologies Price Performance

A stock opened at $141.93 on Wednesday. Agilent Technologies, Inc. has a 1 year low of $124.16 and a 1 year high of $155.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57, a quick ratio of 1.58 and a current ratio of 2.09. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $137.15 and its 200 day moving average price is $136.60. The firm has a market cap of $40.78 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.11, a PEG ratio of 4.46 and a beta of 1.07.

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

Agilent Technologies Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 22nd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st will be issued a dividend of $0.248 per share. This represents a $0.99 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.70%. This is an increase from Agilent Technologies’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.24. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, December 31st. Agilent Technologies’s dividend payout ratio is presently 22.40%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently issued reports on A. 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 report on Monday. Citigroup lifted their target price on Agilent Technologies from $150.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 22nd. TD Cowen lifted their target price on Agilent Technologies from $153.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 22nd. Barclays dropped their price target on Agilent Technologies from $145.00 to $135.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, November 27th. Finally, Bank of America boosted their target price on Agilent Technologies from $140.00 to $147.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 22nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $143.14.

Insider Transactions at Agilent Technologies

In other Agilent Technologies news, SVP Dominique Grau sold 9,990 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $145.00, for a total value of $1,448,550.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 40,011 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,801,595. This represents a 19.98 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

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.