Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A) Shares Acquired by Park Avenue Securities LLC

Park Avenue Securities LLC increased its holdings in shares of Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A) by 9.3% during the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 13,101 shares of the medical research company’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,116 shares during the period. Park Avenue Securities LLC’s holdings in Agilent Technologies were worth $1,698,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Agilent Technologies by 18.2% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 29,884,345 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $4,348,471,000 after acquiring an additional 4,605,228 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its position in Agilent Technologies by 19.6% during the fourth quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 13,246,489 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $1,841,659,000 after purchasing an additional 2,170,219 shares in the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its position in Agilent Technologies by 13.9% during the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 8,542,054 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $1,242,956,000 after purchasing an additional 1,042,926 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Agilent Technologies in the fourth quarter valued at $509,904,000. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB increased its position in shares of Agilent Technologies by 4.4% in the first quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 2,783,238 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $406,715,000 after buying an additional 116,822 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.42% of the company’s stock.

Agilent Technologies Stock Down 1.7 %

NYSE A traded down $2.27 on Wednesday, reaching $133.99. The company had a trading volume of 1,553,900 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,783,342. The firm has a market capitalization of $39.09 billion, a PE ratio of 32.21, a P/E/G ratio of 4.86 and a beta of 1.05. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $132.76 and a 200-day moving average of $138.05. Agilent Technologies, Inc. has a 1 year low of $96.80 and a 1 year high of $155.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a current ratio of 2.15 and a quick ratio of 1.64.

Agilent Technologies (NYSE:A) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, May 29th. The medical research company reported $1.22 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.19 by $0.03. Agilent Technologies had a return on equity of 26.25% and a net margin of 18.84%. The company had revenue of $1.57 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.58 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.27 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was down 8.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Agilent Technologies, Inc. will post 5.24 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Agilent Technologies Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 24th. Investors of record on Tuesday, July 2nd were paid a $0.236 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, July 2nd. This represents a $0.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.70%. Agilent Technologies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 22.22%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Citigroup raised shares of Agilent Technologies from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $135.00 to $150.00 in a research note on Wednesday, July 10th. Evercore ISI boosted their price target on Agilent Technologies from $126.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on Agilent Technologies from $165.00 to $155.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, May 30th. TD Cowen reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $153.00 price objective on shares of Agilent Technologies in a research report on Monday, July 29th. Finally, UBS Group cut their target price on shares of Agilent Technologies from $155.00 to $141.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 30th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $138.06.

Insider Activity at Agilent Technologies

In other news, CEO Padraig Mcdonnell sold 1,958 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $130.00, for a total value of $254,540.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 25,185 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,274,050. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In other Agilent Technologies news, SVP Dominique Grau sold 15,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $133.28, for a total value of $1,999,200.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 49,486 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,595,494.08. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Padraig Mcdonnell sold 1,958 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $130.00, for a total value of $254,540.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 25,185 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,274,050. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 18,916 shares of company stock valued at $2,527,860 over the last three months. 0.33% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.