Verdence Capital Advisors LLC Acquires New Position in Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A)

Verdence Capital Advisors LLC bought a new position in Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A) in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 1,751 shares of the medical research company’s stock, valued at approximately $260,000.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Crewe Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Agilent Technologies by 114.8% during the 2nd quarter. Crewe Advisors LLC now owns 189 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 101 shares during the last quarter. Livelsberger Financial Advisory acquired a new position in Agilent Technologies in the third quarter worth approximately $28,000. Ridgewood Investments LLC bought a new position in Agilent Technologies during the second quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Fortitude Family Office LLC lifted its stake in Agilent Technologies by 68.3% in the third quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 234 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $35,000 after acquiring an additional 95 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC bought a new stake in Agilent Technologies in the second quarter worth approximately $39,000.

Agilent Technologies Stock Performance

NYSE:A opened at $133.66 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a quick ratio of 1.37 and a current ratio of 1.78. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $139.27 and its 200-day moving average is $138.19. Agilent Technologies, Inc. has a 52-week low of $106.96 and a 52-week high of $155.35. The company has a market cap of $38.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.73, a PEG ratio of 6.01 and a beta of 1.07.

Agilent Technologies (NYSE:A) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 21st. The medical research company reported $1.32 EPS 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 firm had revenue of $1.58 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.56 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.43 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 5.6% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts anticipate that Agilent Technologies, Inc. will post 5.24 earnings per share for the current year.

Agilent Technologies Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, October 23rd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, October 1st were paid a dividend of $0.236 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, October 1st. This represents a $0.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.71%. Agilent Technologies’s dividend payout ratio is currently 19.50%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Agilent Technologies

In other news, SVP Dominique Grau sold 9,990 shares of the firm’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 completion of the sale, the senior vice president now 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 transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In other Agilent Technologies news, SVP Dominique Grau sold 9,990 shares of the company’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 transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 40,011 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,801,595. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Padraig Mcdonnell sold 1,958 shares of Agilent Technologies 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 owns 24,118 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,497,110. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 11,995 shares of company stock valued at $1,739,510 in the last 90 days.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently issued reports on A. Citigroup lifted 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. Bank of America boosted their price target on 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 initiated coverage on Agilent Technologies in a research note on Tuesday, August 27th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $157.00 price target for the company. TD Cowen increased their price target on Agilent Technologies from $153.00 to $160.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 22nd. Finally, Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Agilent Technologies from $135.00 to $145.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 15th. One 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $144.36.

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.