Creative Planning Grows Position in Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A)

Creative Planning lifted its stake in shares of Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A) by 0.3% during the second quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 42,412 shares of the medical research company’s stock after purchasing an additional 118 shares during the quarter. Creative Planning’s holdings in Agilent Technologies were worth $5,498,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in A. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Agilent Technologies by 18.2% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 29,884,345 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $4,348,471,000 after purchasing an additional 4,605,228 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its stake in shares of Agilent Technologies by 5.7% during the 2nd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 15,064,660 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $1,952,832,000 after acquiring an additional 809,149 shares during the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its position in shares of Agilent Technologies by 13.9% in the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 8,542,054 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $1,242,956,000 after acquiring an additional 1,042,926 shares during the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp grew its holdings in Agilent Technologies by 0.7% in the second quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 2,793,189 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $362,081,000 after purchasing an additional 18,205 shares during the period. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB increased its position in Agilent Technologies by 4.4% during the first quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 2,783,238 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $406,715,000 after purchasing an additional 116,822 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.42% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Agilent Technologies

In other news, SVP Dominique Grau sold 9,990 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $145.00, for a total transaction of $1,448,550.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 40,011 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,801,595. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related 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 transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 40,011 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,801,595. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Padraig Mcdonnell sold 1,958 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $145.00, for a total transaction of $283,910.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 24,118 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,497,110. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 13,953 shares of company stock valued at $2,013,630. Corporate insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Citigroup upped their price objective on Agilent Technologies from $150.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 22nd. Barclays boosted their target price on Agilent Technologies from $125.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Friday, August 23rd. UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of Agilent Technologies from $141.00 to $150.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 22nd. Wolfe Research lowered shares of Agilent Technologies from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, June 27th. Finally, Bank of America lifted their target price on shares of Agilent Technologies from $140.00 to $147.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, August 22nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Agilent Technologies has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $143.64.

Agilent Technologies Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:A opened at $144.55 on Friday. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $139.96 and its two-hundred day moving average is $139.10. The firm has a market capitalization of $42.17 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.17, a PEG ratio of 6.48 and a beta of 1.05. The company has a current ratio of 1.78, a quick ratio of 1.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36. Agilent Technologies, Inc. has a 52 week low of $96.80 and a 52 week high of $155.35.

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

Agilent Technologies Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 23rd. Stockholders 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 dividend yield of 0.65%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, October 1st. Agilent Technologies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 22.22%.

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.