Congress Asset Management Co. MA Has $535,000 Stake in Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A)

Congress Asset Management Co. MA decreased its holdings in Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A) by 5.5% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 3,678 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 215 shares during the period. Congress Asset Management Co. MA’s holdings in Agilent Technologies were worth $535,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Hyperion Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of Agilent Technologies by 4.2% in the 1st quarter. Hyperion Partners LLC now owns 4,669 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $679,000 after purchasing an additional 187 shares during the period. Gulf International Bank UK Ltd increased its holdings in shares of Agilent Technologies by 1.2% in the 1st quarter. Gulf International Bank UK Ltd now owns 25,494 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $3,709,000 after purchasing an additional 296 shares during the period. Guinness Asset Management LTD increased its holdings in Agilent Technologies by 6.9% in the first quarter. Guinness Asset Management LTD now owns 3,551 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $517,000 after buying an additional 230 shares during the last quarter. RFG Advisory LLC acquired a new position in Agilent Technologies in the first quarter worth approximately $261,000. Finally, Park Avenue Securities LLC increased its holdings in Agilent Technologies by 14.7% in the first quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC now owns 11,985 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $1,744,000 after buying an additional 1,532 shares during the last quarter.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the company. Jefferies Financial Group restated a “hold” rating and issued a $135.00 price objective (down previously from $152.00) on shares of Agilent Technologies in a report on Monday, June 3rd. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price objective on Agilent Technologies from $163.00 to $151.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, May 30th. Oppenheimer increased their price objective on Agilent Technologies from $67.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 26th. TD Cowen dropped their price objective on Agilent Technologies from $163.00 to $153.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, May 30th. Finally, Evercore ISI decreased their target price on Agilent Technologies from $145.00 to $126.00 and set an “in-line” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, May 30th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Agilent Technologies currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $136.50.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Padraig Mcdonnell sold 1,958 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, June 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $130.00, for a total value of $254,540.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 25,185 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,274,050. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, SVP Dominique Grau sold 15,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $133.28, for a total transaction of $1,999,200.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 49,486 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,595,494.08. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Padraig Mcdonnell sold 1,958 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $130.00, for a total value of $254,540.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 25,185 shares in the company, valued at $3,274,050. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 19,785 shares of company stock valued at $2,670,836 over the last ninety days.

Agilent Technologies Stock Up 0.4 %

A opened at $133.25 on Friday. Agilent Technologies, Inc. has a 1-year low of $96.80 and a 1-year high of $155.35. The company has a current ratio of 2.15, a quick ratio of 1.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34. The stock has a market capitalization of $38.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.50, a P/E/G ratio of 4.50 and a beta of 1.07. The business has a 50 day moving average of $139.83 and a 200-day moving average of $138.32.

Agilent Technologies (NYSE:A) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, May 29th. The medical research company reported $1.22 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.19 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $1.57 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.58 billion. Agilent Technologies had a return on equity of 26.25% and a net margin of 18.84%. Agilent Technologies’s quarterly revenue was down 8.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.27 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Agilent Technologies, Inc. will post 5.25 earnings per share for the current year.

Agilent Technologies Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 24th. Investors of record on Tuesday, July 2nd will be given a $0.236 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, July 2nd. This represents a $0.94 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.71%. Agilent Technologies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 22.22%.

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.