Prospera Financial Services Inc Invests $375,000 in Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A)

Prospera Financial Services Inc purchased a new stake in Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A) in the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund purchased 2,528 shares of the medical research company’s stock, valued at approximately $375,000.

Other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Crewe Advisors LLC grew its stake in Agilent Technologies by 114.8% during the second quarter. Crewe Advisors LLC now owns 189 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 101 shares in the last quarter. Livelsberger Financial Advisory acquired a new stake in shares of Agilent Technologies during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $28,000. Ridgewood Investments LLC bought a new position in Agilent Technologies in the second quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC acquired a new position in Agilent Technologies during the third quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Finally, Fortitude Family Office LLC raised its position in Agilent Technologies by 68.3% during the third quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 234 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 95 shares in the last quarter. 87.42% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Agilent Technologies Stock Performance

Shares of Agilent Technologies stock opened at $133.84 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $38.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.77, a P/E/G ratio of 5.81 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 twelve month low of $123.48 and a twelve month high of $155.35. The company’s fifty day moving average is $137.90 and its 200 day moving average is $137.61.

Agilent Technologies Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 22nd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st will be paid a $0.248 dividend. This is a boost from Agilent Technologies’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.24. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, December 31st. This represents a $0.99 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.74%. Agilent Technologies’s dividend payout ratio is presently 20.54%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. TD Cowen lifted their price target on Agilent Technologies from $153.00 to $160.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 22nd. Barclays raised their price objective on Agilent Technologies from $135.00 to $145.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 15th. Stifel Nicolaus reissued a “buy” rating and set a $151.00 target price on shares of Agilent Technologies in a research note on Monday, August 26th. Evercore ISI raised their price target 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. Finally, Bank of America upped their price objective 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. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $144.36.

Insider Transactions at Agilent Technologies

In other news, SVP Dominique Grau sold 9,990 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $145.00, for a total value 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 approximately $5,801,595. This represents a 19.98 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 0.33% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.