Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A) Shares Sold by Janney Montgomery Scott LLC

Janney Montgomery Scott LLC decreased its position in shares of Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A) by 0.6% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 134,834 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 747 shares during the quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC’s holdings in Agilent Technologies were worth $18,114,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of A. Livelsberger Financial Advisory acquired a new stake in Agilent Technologies during the 3rd quarter worth about $28,000. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC acquired a new stake in Agilent Technologies during the third quarter worth about $31,000. 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 acquiring an additional 95 shares in the last quarter. RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC acquired a new position in Agilent Technologies in the third quarter valued at approximately $38,000. Finally, Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC purchased a new stake in Agilent Technologies in the 4th quarter worth approximately $46,000.

Agilent Technologies Stock Down 0.8 %

NYSE A opened at $151.24 on Friday. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $138.43 and a 200 day moving average price of $138.06. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57, a quick ratio of 1.58 and a current ratio of 2.09. The company has a market cap of $43.19 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.22, a P/E/G ratio of 4.12 and a beta of 1.06. Agilent Technologies, Inc. has a one year low of $124.16 and a one year high of $155.35.

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

Agilent Technologies Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 22nd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st were issued a dividend of $0.248 per share. This is a boost from Agilent Technologies’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.24. This represents a $0.99 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.66%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, December 31st. Agilent Technologies’s payout ratio is currently 22.40%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Padraig Mcdonnell sold 1,911 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $150.00, for a total transaction of $286,650.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 39,652 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,947,800. The trade was a 4.60 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on A shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price 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. Bank of America decreased their price objective on shares of Agilent Technologies from $153.00 to $150.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Citigroup raised their target price on Agilent Technologies to $165.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. StockNews.com raised Agilent Technologies from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 24th. Finally, Barclays dropped their price objective on Agilent Technologies from $145.00 to $135.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, November 27th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Agilent Technologies presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $143.62.

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.