GAMMA Investing LLC Increases Stock Position in Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A)

GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its stake in Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A) by 24.3% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,967 shares of the medical research company’s stock after purchasing an additional 384 shares during the quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC’s holdings in Agilent Technologies were worth $292,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Livelsberger Financial Advisory purchased a new stake in shares of Agilent Technologies during the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. Crewe Advisors LLC raised its position in Agilent Technologies by 114.8% in the 2nd quarter. Crewe Advisors LLC now owns 189 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 101 shares during the period. Ridgewood Investments LLC purchased a new stake in Agilent Technologies in the 2nd quarter worth about $29,000. Rise Advisors LLC raised its position in Agilent Technologies by 527.8% in the 1st quarter. Rise Advisors LLC now owns 226 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 190 shares during the period. Finally, Riverview Trust Co purchased a new stake in Agilent Technologies in the 1st quarter worth about $41,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.42% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Padraig Mcdonnell sold 1,958 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $145.00, for a total value of $283,910.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 24,118 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,497,110. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In related news, SVP Dominique Grau sold 9,990 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 40,011 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,801,595. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a 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 that occurred on Thursday, August 22nd. The stock was 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 in the company, valued at approximately $3,497,110. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 13,953 shares of company stock valued at $2,013,630. Company insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently weighed in on A. TD Cowen increased their price objective on shares of Agilent Technologies from $153.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 22nd. Wolfe Research downgraded shares of Agilent Technologies from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, June 27th. Evercore ISI increased their price objective on shares of Agilent Technologies from $135.00 to $145.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 1st. Citigroup increased their price objective on shares of Agilent Technologies from $150.00 to $165.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 22nd. Finally, Bank of America increased their price objective on shares of 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 given a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $143.64.

Agilent Technologies Stock Performance

A opened at $142.76 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $41.65 billion, a PE ratio of 33.75, a PEG ratio of 6.48 and a beta of 1.05. Agilent Technologies, Inc. has a twelve month low of $96.80 and a twelve month high of $155.35. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $140.42 and its 200 day moving average price is $138.96. 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 (NYSE:A) last posted its earnings results 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. The company had revenue of $1.58 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.56 billion. Agilent Technologies had a net margin of 21.75% and a return on equity of 25.26%. Agilent Technologies’s revenue was down 5.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.43 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Agilent Technologies, Inc. will post 5.24 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Agilent Technologies Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 23rd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, October 1st will be issued a $0.236 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, October 1st. This represents a $0.94 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.66%. Agilent Technologies’s payout ratio is 22.22%.

About Agilent Technologies

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.