Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A) Position Trimmed by Townsquare Capital LLC

Townsquare Capital LLC decreased its holdings in shares of Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A) by 11.4% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 1,942 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 251 shares during the period. Townsquare Capital LLC’s holdings in Agilent Technologies were worth $288,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in A. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its stake 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 valued at $1,952,832,000 after purchasing an additional 809,149 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC increased its stake in Agilent Technologies by 62.2% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,287,665 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $191,193,000 after purchasing an additional 493,947 shares during the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP grew its position in shares of Agilent Technologies by 48.6% during the second quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 957,128 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $124,073,000 after acquiring an additional 313,155 shares during the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC grew its position in shares of Agilent Technologies by 63.3% during the third quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 586,439 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $87,075,000 after acquiring an additional 227,431 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Impax Asset Management Group plc grew its position in shares of Agilent Technologies by 8.2% during the third quarter. Impax Asset Management Group plc now owns 2,667,616 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $396,088,000 after acquiring an additional 203,234 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 87.42% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP Dominique Grau sold 9,990 shares of the 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 owns 40,011 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,801,595. This represents a 19.98 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 0.33% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Agilent Technologies Price Performance

A stock opened at $140.57 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 2.09, a quick ratio of 1.58 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57. Agilent Technologies, Inc. has a one year low of $124.16 and a one year high of $155.35. The firm has a market capitalization of $40.39 billion, a PE ratio of 31.80, a P/E/G ratio of 4.42 and a beta of 1.07. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $137.38 and a two-hundred day moving average of $136.97.

Agilent Technologies (NYSE:A) last issued its earnings results on Monday, November 25th. The medical research company reported $1.46 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.41 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $1.70 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.67 billion. Agilent Technologies had a return on equity of 25.43% and a net margin of 19.80%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up .8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.38 EPS. On average, analysts forecast that Agilent Technologies, Inc. will post 5.56 earnings per share for the current year.

Agilent Technologies Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 22nd. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 31st will be issued a $0.248 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 31st. This represents a $0.99 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.71%. This is an increase from Agilent Technologies’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.24. Agilent Technologies’s dividend payout ratio is currently 22.40%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently commented on A. Citigroup upped their price target on shares of Agilent Technologies from $150.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company began coverage on shares of Agilent Technologies in a research report on Tuesday, August 27th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $157.00 price target for the company. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Agilent Technologies from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 26th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on shares of Agilent Technologies from $165.00 to $160.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, November 26th. Finally, TD Cowen upped their price objective on shares of Agilent Technologies from $153.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 22nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $143.40.

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.