Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A) Shares Sold by Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC

Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC lessened its stake in shares of Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A) by 12.4% in the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 20,735 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 2,931 shares during the period. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC’s holdings in Agilent Technologies were worth $3,079,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake 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 worth $4,348,471,000 after acquiring an additional 4,605,228 shares during the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its position in 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 buying an additional 809,149 shares during the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased 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 worth $1,242,956,000 after buying an additional 1,042,926 shares during the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp increased its position in Agilent Technologies by 0.7% during the second quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 2,793,189 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $362,081,000 after buying an additional 18,205 shares during the last quarter. 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 buying an additional 116,822 shares during the last quarter.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Padraig Mcdonnell sold 1,958 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In other news, SVP Dominique Grau sold 9,990 shares of the 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 ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Padraig Mcdonnell sold 1,958 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $145.00, for a total transaction of $283,910.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 24,118 shares in the company, valued at $3,497,110. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 11,995 shares of company stock valued at $1,739,510 over the last three months.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have commented on A shares. Bank of America increased their target price on shares of Agilent Technologies from $140.00 to $147.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 22nd. 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 target on the stock. Citigroup raised their price target on Agilent Technologies from $150.00 to $165.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 22nd. Barclays raised their price target on Agilent Technologies from $135.00 to $145.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 15th. Finally, Evercore ISI raised their price target on Agilent Technologies from $135.00 to $145.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 1st. One equities 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, Agilent Technologies presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $144.36.

Agilent Technologies Trading Up 5.0 %

Shares of A opened at $136.87 on Friday. 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 stock has a market cap of $39.33 billion, a PE ratio of 28.40, a PEG ratio of 6.31 and a beta of 1.05. Agilent Technologies, Inc. has a 1 year low of $102.70 and a 1 year high of $155.35. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $139.73 and a 200-day simple moving average of $138.05.

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

Agilent Technologies Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, October 23rd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, October 1st were paid a dividend of $0.236 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, October 1st. This represents a $0.94 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.69%. Agilent Technologies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 19.50%.

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.