Blue Trust Inc. Purchases 627 Shares of Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A)

Blue Trust Inc. boosted its position in Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A) by 18.0% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 4,118 shares of the medical research company’s stock after purchasing an additional 627 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc.’s holdings in Agilent Technologies were worth $611,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Livelsberger Financial Advisory purchased a new stake in Agilent Technologies in the 3rd quarter worth about $28,000. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC purchased a new position in shares of Agilent Technologies in the third quarter worth about $31,000. Fortitude Family Office LLC raised its position in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 95 shares during the period. RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Agilent Technologies during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $38,000. Finally, Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC bought a new position in Agilent Technologies in the 4th quarter worth approximately $46,000. 87.42% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Agilent Technologies Stock Performance

NYSE A opened at $151.34 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $43.22 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.24, a P/E/G ratio of 4.12 and a beta of 1.06. 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, Inc. has a 52-week low of $124.16 and a 52-week high of $155.35. The company has a fifty day moving average of $139.77 and a 200-day moving average of $138.56.

Agilent Technologies (NYSE:A) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, November 25th. The medical research company reported $1.46 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.41 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $1.70 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.67 billion. Agilent Technologies had a return on equity of 25.43% and a net margin of 19.80%. The company’s revenue was up .8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.38 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Agilent Technologies, Inc. will post 5.56 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Agilent Technologies Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 22nd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st were paid a dividend of $0.248 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, December 31st. This is an increase from Agilent Technologies’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.24. This represents a $0.99 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.66%. Agilent Technologies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 22.40%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on the company. Bank of America dropped 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. Sanford C. Bernstein cut their target price on Agilent Technologies from $140.00 to $135.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, November 26th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on Agilent Technologies from $157.00 to $155.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, December 9th. Citigroup raised their price objective on shares of Agilent Technologies to $165.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. Finally, Barclays lowered their target price on shares of Agilent Technologies from $145.00 to $135.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, November 27th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $143.62.

Insider Transactions at Agilent Technologies

In other news, CEO Padraig Mcdonnell sold 1,911 shares of Agilent Technologies stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $150.00, for a total value of $286,650.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 39,652 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,947,800. The trade was a 4.60 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

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.