JLB & Associates Inc. Trims Stock Holdings in Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A)

JLB & Associates Inc. trimmed its stake in Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A) by 3.2% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 22,213 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 740 shares during the period. JLB & Associates Inc.’s holdings in Agilent Technologies were worth $3,298,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of A. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Agilent Technologies by 18.2% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 29,884,345 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $4,348,471,000 after purchasing an additional 4,605,228 shares in the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its position in Agilent Technologies by 13.9% during the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 8,542,054 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $1,242,956,000 after acquiring an additional 1,042,926 shares during the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its stake in shares of Agilent Technologies by 5.7% during the second quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 15,064,660 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $1,952,832,000 after acquiring an additional 809,149 shares in the last quarter. Oribel Capital Management LP bought a new stake in shares of Agilent Technologies in the 4th quarter worth approximately $60,186,000. Finally, Champlain Investment Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Agilent Technologies in the 1st quarter valued at $61,218,000. 87.42% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Padraig Mcdonnell sold 1,958 shares of Agilent Technologies stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $140.00, for a total transaction of $274,120.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 26,076 shares in the company, valued at $3,650,640. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other Agilent Technologies news, SVP Dominique Grau sold 9,990 shares of Agilent Technologies stock in a transaction on 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 completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 40,011 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,801,595. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Padraig Mcdonnell sold 1,958 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, July 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $140.00, for a total value of $274,120.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 26,076 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,650,640. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 13,953 shares of company stock worth $2,013,630. Corporate insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

Agilent Technologies Trading Down 0.0 %

Shares of A opened at $146.54 on Thursday. 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 1.78, a quick ratio of 1.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $139.77 and its 200-day moving average price is $139.06. The firm has a market capitalization of $42.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.64, a PEG ratio of 6.48 and a beta of 1.05.

Agilent Technologies (NYSE:A) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 21st. The medical research company reported $1.32 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.26 by $0.06. Agilent Technologies had a return on equity of 25.26% and a net margin of 21.75%. The business had revenue of $1.58 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.56 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.43 EPS. The business’s revenue was down 5.6% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Agilent Technologies, Inc. will post 5.24 EPS for the current year.

Agilent Technologies Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 23rd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, October 1st will be given a dividend of $0.236 per share. This represents a $0.94 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.64%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, October 1st. Agilent Technologies’s dividend payout ratio is currently 22.22%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have weighed in on the stock. Wolfe Research downgraded shares of Agilent Technologies from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, June 27th. UBS Group boosted their target price on Agilent Technologies from $141.00 to $150.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 22nd. Stifel Nicolaus restated a “buy” rating and set a $151.00 price target on shares of Agilent Technologies in a research report on Monday, August 26th. Wells Fargo & Company began coverage on Agilent Technologies in a research report on Tuesday, August 27th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $157.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Bank of America increased their price objective on Agilent Technologies from $140.00 to $147.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 22nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $143.64.

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.