BNP Paribas Sells 3,333 Shares of Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A)

BNP Paribas decreased its holdings in shares of Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A) by 17.4% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 15,866 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 3,333 shares during the quarter. BNP Paribas’ holdings in Agilent Technologies were worth $2,353,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Crewe Advisors LLC increased its stake in 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 acquiring an additional 101 shares during the last quarter. Livelsberger Financial Advisory purchased a new position in shares of Agilent Technologies in the 3rd quarter worth about $28,000. Ridgewood Investments LLC bought a new position in shares of Agilent Technologies during the 2nd quarter valued at about $29,000. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC purchased a new position in shares of Agilent Technologies during the 3rd quarter valued at about $31,000. Finally, Fortitude Family Office LLC lifted its position in Agilent Technologies by 68.3% in the 3rd quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 234 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $35,000 after buying an additional 95 shares during the last quarter.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, SVP Dominique Grau sold 9,990 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $145.00, for a total value of $1,448,550.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 40,011 shares in the company, valued at $5,801,595. The trade was a 19.98 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink.

Agilent Technologies Trading Down 0.1 %

Shares of Agilent Technologies stock opened at $134.35 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a current ratio of 1.78 and a quick ratio of 1.37. The stock has a market capitalization of $38.60 billion, a PE ratio of 30.40, a P/E/G ratio of 5.91 and a beta of 1.07. Agilent Technologies, Inc. has a 1-year low of $124.10 and a 1-year high of $155.35. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $137.74 and its 200-day simple moving average is $137.43.

Agilent Technologies Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 22nd. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 31st will be issued a $0.248 dividend. This represents a $0.99 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.74%. This is a positive change 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 currently 21.27%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have issued reports on A shares. Bank of America upped their price target on shares of Agilent Technologies from $140.00 to $147.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company began coverage on Agilent Technologies in a report on Tuesday, August 27th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $157.00 target price for the company. Stifel Nicolaus restated a “buy” rating and issued a $151.00 price objective on shares of Agilent Technologies in a research report on Monday, August 26th. UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of Agilent Technologies from $141.00 to $150.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 22nd. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein cut their target price on Agilent Technologies from $140.00 to $135.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $143.40.

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.