Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A) Shares Sold by Beta Wealth Group Inc.

Beta Wealth Group Inc. reduced its position in Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A) by 5.5% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 1,787 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 105 shares during the period. Beta Wealth Group Inc.’s holdings in Agilent Technologies were worth $240,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. AMF Tjanstepension AB bought a new stake in shares of Agilent Technologies in the 3rd quarter worth about $2,726,000. Creative Planning lifted its holdings in Agilent Technologies by 5.9% during the 3rd quarter. Creative Planning now owns 44,910 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $6,668,000 after buying an additional 2,498 shares during the last quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC grew its position in shares of Agilent Technologies by 3.2% in the 3rd quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 2,570 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $382,000 after acquiring an additional 79 shares in the last quarter. Godsey & Gibb Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Agilent Technologies by 1.3% in the 3rd quarter. Godsey & Gibb Inc. now owns 133,612 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $19,839,000 after acquiring an additional 1,724 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Livelsberger Financial Advisory bought a new stake in Agilent Technologies during the third quarter valued at $28,000.

Insider Activity at Agilent Technologies

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 value of $286,650.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly 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 legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link.

Agilent Technologies Trading Down 1.4 %

NYSE A opened at $134.57 on Tuesday. Agilent Technologies, Inc. has a 52 week low of $124.16 and a 52 week high of $155.35. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $141.53 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $139.40. The stock has a market capitalization of $38.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.45, a PEG ratio of 4.00 and a beta of 1.07. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57, a quick ratio of 1.58 and a current ratio of 2.09.

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

Agilent Technologies Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 22nd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st were issued a $0.248 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, December 31st. This is a boost from Agilent Technologies’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.24. This represents a $0.99 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.74%. Agilent Technologies’s payout ratio is currently 22.40%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A has been the topic of several research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on shares of Agilent Technologies from $165.00 to $160.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, November 26th. Citigroup increased their price target on Agilent Technologies to $165.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. Barclays upgraded Agilent Technologies from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $135.00 to $145.00 in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Sanford C. Bernstein dropped their price target on shares of Agilent Technologies from $140.00 to $135.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, November 26th. Finally, Bank of America reduced their price objective on shares of Agilent Technologies from $153.00 to $150.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday, December 13th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $144.38.

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.