Ballentine Partners LLC Acquires 195 Shares of Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A)

Ballentine Partners LLC grew its holdings in Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A) by 7.7% during the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 2,732 shares of the medical research company’s stock after purchasing an additional 195 shares during the quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC’s holdings in Agilent Technologies were worth $406,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew 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 purchasing an additional 4,605,228 shares during the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its stake in 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 valued at $1,242,956,000 after acquiring an additional 1,042,926 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its stake in 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 purchasing an additional 809,149 shares in the last quarter. Champlain Investment Partners LLC acquired a new position in Agilent Technologies during the first quarter worth $61,218,000. Finally, Marshall Wace LLP lifted its stake in shares of Agilent Technologies by 48.6% in the second quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 957,128 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $124,073,000 after buying an additional 313,155 shares in the last quarter. 87.42% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Agilent Technologies Trading Down 0.4 %

Shares of Agilent Technologies stock opened at $130.19 on Monday. Agilent Technologies, Inc. has a 12-month low of $96.80 and a 12-month 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 company has a market cap of $37.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.78, a PEG ratio of 6.96 and a beta of 1.05. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $140.53 and its 200-day moving average price is $138.33.

Agilent Technologies (NYSE:A) last issued its quarterly earnings results 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 firm had revenue of $1.58 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.56 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.43 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 5.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts expect that Agilent Technologies, Inc. will post 5.24 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Agilent Technologies Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, October 23rd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, October 1st were given a dividend of $0.236 per share. This represents a $0.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.73%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, October 1st. Agilent Technologies’s payout ratio is currently 22.22%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, SVP Dominique Grau sold 9,990 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $145.00, for a total transaction of $1,448,550.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 40,011 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,801,595. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other Agilent Technologies news, SVP Dominique Grau sold 9,990 shares of Agilent Technologies stock in a transaction that occurred 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $5,801,595. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 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 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. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 11,995 shares of company stock valued at $1,739,510. 0.33% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Bank of America upped their target price on shares of Agilent Technologies from $140.00 to $147.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, August 22nd. TD Cowen lifted their target price on Agilent Technologies from $153.00 to $160.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 22nd. UBS Group increased their price target on Agilent Technologies from $141.00 to $150.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 22nd. Evercore ISI lifted their price objective on shares of Agilent Technologies from $135.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 1st. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $151.00 target price on shares of Agilent Technologies in a report on Monday, August 26th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $144.36.

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.