Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton Raises Holdings in Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A)

Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton grew its stake in Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A) by 85.2% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 526 shares of the medical research company’s stock after acquiring an additional 242 shares during the quarter. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton’s holdings in Agilent Technologies were worth $71,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Livelsberger Financial Advisory acquired a new stake in Agilent Technologies in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC acquired a new stake in Agilent Technologies in the 3rd quarter valued at about $31,000. Fortitude Family Office LLC raised its holdings in Agilent Technologies by 68.3% in the third quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 234 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $35,000 after acquiring an additional 95 shares in the last quarter. RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC purchased a new stake in Agilent Technologies during the 3rd quarter worth about $38,000. Finally, Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC acquired a new position in shares of Agilent Technologies during the 2nd quarter worth about $39,000. 87.42% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Agilent Technologies Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:A opened at $143.46 on Wednesday. Agilent Technologies, Inc. has a one year low of $124.16 and a one year high of $155.35. The stock has a market capitalization of $40.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.46, a PEG ratio of 4.48 and a beta of 1.06. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $136.07 and a 200-day simple moving average of $136.96. 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 posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, November 25th. The medical research company reported $1.46 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.41 by $0.05. Agilent Technologies had a return on equity of 25.43% and a net margin of 19.80%. The firm had revenue of $1.70 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.67 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.38 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up .8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts predict that Agilent Technologies, Inc. will post 5.56 EPS for the current year.

Agilent Technologies Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 22nd. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 31st will be given a $0.248 dividend. This represents a $0.99 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.69%. This is a positive change from Agilent Technologies’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.24. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 31st. Agilent Technologies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 22.40%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on A shares. Bank of America cut their target price on Agilent Technologies from $153.00 to $150.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on shares of Agilent Technologies from $157.00 to $155.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, December 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective 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. Evercore ISI increased their target price on shares of Agilent Technologies from $135.00 to $145.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 1st. Finally, Citigroup lifted their price target on shares of Agilent Technologies to $165.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. One equities research 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 MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $143.62.

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.