Entropy Technologies LP Grows Stock Position in Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A)

Entropy Technologies LP increased its position in shares of Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A) by 25.5% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 26,319 shares of the medical research company’s stock after purchasing an additional 5,344 shares during the quarter. Entropy Technologies LP’s holdings in Agilent Technologies were worth $3,536,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Empowered Funds LLC raised its position in shares of Agilent Technologies by 20.4% during the 4th quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 37,285 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $5,009,000 after buying an additional 6,307 shares during the period. Apollon Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in Agilent Technologies by 419.0% in the 4th quarter. Apollon Wealth Management LLC now owns 9,784 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $1,314,000 after purchasing an additional 7,899 shares during the last quarter. Global X Japan Co. Ltd. increased its holdings in Agilent Technologies by 161.1% in the 4th quarter. Global X Japan Co. Ltd. now owns 188 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 116 shares during the last quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. increased its holdings in Agilent Technologies by 0.6% in the 4th quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 667,856 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $89,720,000 after purchasing an additional 4,089 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. increased its holdings in Agilent Technologies by 22.4% in the 4th quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 32,312 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $4,370,000 after purchasing an additional 5,924 shares during the last quarter.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have commented on A shares. Barclays dropped their price target on shares of Agilent Technologies from $145.00 to $135.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, November 27th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Agilent Technologies from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 24th. Bank of America lowered their target price on shares of Agilent Technologies from $153.00 to $150.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Sanford C. Bernstein lowered their target price on shares of Agilent Technologies from $140.00 to $135.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, November 26th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on shares of Agilent Technologies from $157.00 to $155.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, December 9th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $143.62.

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 dated Tuesday, January 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $150.00, for a total transaction of $286,650.00. Following the completion of the transaction, 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 transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink.

Agilent Technologies Stock Performance

NYSE:A opened at $145.21 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.58, a current ratio of 2.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57. The company has a market cap of $41.43 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.85, a P/E/G ratio of 4.00 and a beta of 1.07. Agilent Technologies, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $124.16 and a fifty-two week high of $155.35. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $141.59 and its two-hundred day moving average is $139.28.

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

Agilent Technologies Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 22nd. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 31st were issued a dividend of $0.248 per share. This represents a $0.99 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.68%. This is a positive change 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 presently 22.40%.

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.