Naples Global Advisors LLC Increases Stock Position in Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A)

Naples Global Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A) by 11.2% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 15,820 shares of the medical research company’s stock after buying an additional 1,590 shares during the period. Naples Global Advisors LLC’s holdings in Agilent Technologies were worth $2,129,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the business. AMF Tjanstepension AB purchased a new position in Agilent Technologies during the 3rd quarter valued at about $2,726,000. CWM LLC boosted its position in shares of Agilent Technologies by 1.3% in the third quarter. CWM LLC now owns 11,491 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $1,706,000 after acquiring an additional 153 shares during the period. Wesbanco Bank Inc. grew its stake in Agilent Technologies by 8.4% during the third quarter. Wesbanco Bank Inc. now owns 2,455 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $365,000 after acquiring an additional 190 shares in the last quarter. Creative Planning increased 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 acquiring an additional 2,498 shares during the period. Finally, Keystone Wealth Services LLC purchased a new stake in Agilent Technologies in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $285,000.

Agilent Technologies Stock Down 2.6 %

A opened at $138.07 on Thursday. Agilent Technologies, Inc. has a 12 month low of $124.16 and a 12 month high of $155.35. The company has a current ratio of 2.09, a quick ratio of 1.58 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $141.72 and its 200-day moving average price is $139.46. The company has a market cap of $39.39 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.24, a P/E/G ratio of 4.00 and a beta of 1.07.

Agilent Technologies (NYSE:A) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, November 25th. The medical research company reported $1.46 EPS 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 business had revenue of $1.70 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.67 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.38 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up .8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts expect that Agilent Technologies, Inc. will post 5.56 EPS for the current year.

Agilent Technologies Increases Dividend

The firm 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 0.72%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, December 31st. This is an increase from Agilent Technologies’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.24. Agilent Technologies’s payout ratio is currently 22.40%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Agilent Technologies

In other news, CEO Padraig Mcdonnell sold 1,911 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 39,652 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,947,800. This trade represents a 4.60 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on A shares. Barclays raised shares of Agilent Technologies from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $135.00 to $145.00 in a report on Monday. Citigroup boosted their price objective on Agilent Technologies to $165.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, December 19th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on shares of Agilent Technologies from $165.00 to $160.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, November 26th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on shares of Agilent Technologies from $157.00 to $155.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, December 9th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Agilent Technologies from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 24th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Agilent Technologies currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $144.38.

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.