Cerity Partners LLC Has $7.38 Million Position in Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A)

Cerity Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A) by 15.3% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 49,696 shares of the medical research company’s stock after buying an additional 6,588 shares during the period. Cerity Partners LLC’s holdings in Agilent Technologies were worth $7,379,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Crewe Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Agilent Technologies by 114.8% in the second quarter. Crewe Advisors LLC now owns 189 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 101 shares during the last quarter. Livelsberger Financial Advisory bought a new stake in shares of Agilent Technologies in the 3rd quarter valued at $28,000. Ridgewood Investments LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Agilent Technologies during the second quarter worth $29,000. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC bought a new position in Agilent Technologies during the third quarter worth $31,000. Finally, Fortitude Family Office LLC lifted its holdings 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 buying an additional 95 shares during the period.

Insider Transactions at Agilent Technologies

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 transaction of $1,448,550.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 40,011 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,801,595. This trade represents a 19.98 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have weighed in on the company. Citigroup increased their price target on Agilent Technologies from $150.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company initiated coverage on Agilent Technologies in a research note on Tuesday, August 27th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $157.00 price target on the stock. Barclays reduced their price objective on shares of Agilent Technologies from $145.00 to $135.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday. UBS Group boosted their target price 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. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein reduced their price target on shares of Agilent Technologies from $140.00 to $135.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $143.40.

Agilent Technologies Stock Performance

Shares of Agilent Technologies stock opened at $138.11 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $39.68 billion, a PE ratio of 31.25, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.91 and a beta of 1.07. The company has a quick ratio of 1.37, a current ratio of 1.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36. Agilent Technologies, Inc. has a 52 week low of $124.10 and a 52 week high of $155.35. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $137.72 and a 200-day moving average price of $137.43.

Agilent Technologies Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 22nd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st will be issued a dividend of $0.248 per share. This represents a $0.99 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.72%. This is an increase from Agilent Technologies’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.24. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, December 31st. Agilent Technologies’s payout ratio is currently 21.27%.

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.