Sound Stewardship LLC Makes New Investment in Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A)

Sound Stewardship LLC purchased a new position in shares of Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 3,127 shares of the medical research company’s stock, valued at approximately $420,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of A. Van ECK Associates Corp lifted its stake in shares of Agilent Technologies by 6.6% in the third quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 2,976,905 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $442,011,000 after acquiring an additional 183,716 shares in the last quarter. Vestal Point Capital LP bought a new stake in shares of Agilent Technologies in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $14,848,000. Empowered Funds LLC lifted its stake in Agilent Technologies by 29.8% in the third quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 30,978 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $4,592,000 after buying an additional 7,111 shares during the last quarter. Czech National Bank grew its position in Agilent Technologies by 6.5% in the 3rd quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 59,456 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $8,828,000 after purchasing an additional 3,612 shares during the last quarter. Finally, S.E.E.D. Planning Group LLC grew its stake in shares of Agilent Technologies by 12.7% in the fourth quarter. S.E.E.D. Planning Group LLC now owns 42,587 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $5,721,000 after purchasing an additional 4,805 shares in the last quarter.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have recently commented on the company. Barclays decreased their target price on Agilent Technologies from $145.00 to $135.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, November 27th. Bank of America decreased their target price on Agilent Technologies from $153.00 to $150.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Citigroup lifted their price objective on Agilent Technologies to $165.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, December 19th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on shares of Agilent Technologies from $165.00 to $160.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, November 26th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on shares of Agilent Technologies from $157.00 to $155.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, December 9th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $143.62.

Agilent Technologies Price Performance

Shares of Agilent Technologies stock opened at $150.74 on Tuesday. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $138.43 and its 200-day moving average price is $138.23. 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 12 month low of $124.16 and a 12 month high of $155.35. The firm has a market capitalization of $43.05 billion, a PE ratio of 34.10, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.12 and a beta of 1.06.

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

Agilent Technologies Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 22nd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st were paid a $0.248 dividend. This is an increase from Agilent Technologies’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.24. This represents a $0.99 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.66%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, December 31st. Agilent Technologies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 22.40%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Agilent Technologies

In other news, CEO Padraig Mcdonnell sold 1,911 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $150.00, for a total value of $286,650.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 39,652 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,947,800. This represents a 4.60 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website.

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.