Smartleaf Asset Management LLC Boosts Stock Position in Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A)

Smartleaf Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A) by 9.6% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 3,722 shares of the medical research company’s stock after purchasing an additional 325 shares during the quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Agilent Technologies were worth $500,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. CKW Financial Group increased its holdings in shares of Agilent Technologies by 114.9% in the 4th quarter. CKW Financial Group now owns 187 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. Global X Japan Co. Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of Agilent Technologies by 161.1% in the 4th quarter. Global X Japan Co. Ltd. now owns 188 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 116 shares during the last quarter. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC bought a new stake in shares of Agilent Technologies in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Hanson & Doremus Investment Management increased its holdings in shares of Agilent Technologies by 66.5% in the 4th quarter. Hanson & Doremus Investment Management now owns 263 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $35,000 after acquiring an additional 105 shares during the last quarter. Finally, RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC bought a new stake in shares of Agilent Technologies in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $38,000.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on A. StockNews.com upgraded Agilent Technologies from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on Agilent Technologies from $165.00 to $160.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, November 26th. Sanford C. Bernstein lowered their price objective 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. Citigroup upped their price objective on Agilent Technologies to $165.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. Finally, Barclays upgraded Agilent Technologies from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $135.00 to $145.00 in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $146.15.

Agilent Technologies Trading Down 1.2 %

Shares of A stock opened at $126.36 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56, a quick ratio of 1.66 and a current ratio of 2.20. Agilent Technologies, Inc. has a 1 year low of $124.16 and a 1 year high of $155.35. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $140.48 and a two-hundred day moving average of $139.08. The firm has a market capitalization of $36.05 billion, a PE ratio of 29.05, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.59 and a beta of 1.11.

Agilent Technologies (NYSE:A) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 26th. The medical research company reported $1.31 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.27 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $1.68 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.67 billion. Agilent Technologies had a return on equity of 25.56% and a net margin of 19.27%. As a group, research analysts expect that Agilent Technologies, Inc. will post 5.57 EPS for the current year.

Agilent Technologies Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 23rd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, April 1st will be issued a $0.248 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 1st. This represents a $0.99 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.79%. Agilent Technologies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 22.76%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Padraig Mcdonnell sold 1,911 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 21st. The stock was 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 owns 39,652 shares in the company, valued at $5,947,800. This represents a 4.60 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link.

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.