Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A) VP Rodney Gonsalves Sells 1,908 Shares of Stock

Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A) VP Rodney Gonsalves sold 1,908 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $121.98, for a total transaction of $232,737.84. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 21,786 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,657,456.28. The trade was a 8.05 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link.

Agilent Technologies Trading Up 0.5 %

A opened at $123.10 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56, a current ratio of 2.20 and a quick ratio of 1.66. The stock has a market capitalization of $35.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.30, a PEG ratio of 3.44 and a beta of 1.11. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $137.70 and a 200 day moving average price of $137.68. Agilent Technologies, Inc. has a 12 month low of $117.17 and a 12 month high of $155.35.

Agilent Technologies (NYSE:A) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 26th. The medical research company reported $1.31 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.27 by $0.04. Agilent Technologies had a net margin of 19.27% and a return on equity of 25.56%. The firm had revenue of $1.68 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.67 billion. Sell-side analysts expect that Agilent Technologies, Inc. will post 5.57 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Agilent Technologies Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 23rd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, April 1st will be given a dividend of $0.248 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 1st. This represents a $0.99 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.81%. Agilent Technologies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 22.76%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Agilent Technologies

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. CKW Financial Group increased its stake in Agilent Technologies by 114.9% in the fourth quarter. CKW Financial Group now owns 187 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. Global X Japan Co. Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of Agilent Technologies by 161.1% in the 4th quarter. Global X Japan Co. Ltd. now owns 188 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 116 shares in the last quarter. Redwood Park Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Agilent Technologies in the 4th quarter valued at $27,000. Lee Danner & Bass Inc. acquired a new stake in Agilent Technologies during the 4th quarter worth $29,000. Finally, Sunbelt Securities Inc. lifted its position in Agilent Technologies by 640.0% in the fourth quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. now owns 222 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 192 shares during the last quarter.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Barclays upgraded Agilent Technologies from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $135.00 to $145.00 in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Citigroup lifted their price target on Agilent Technologies to $165.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, December 19th. Bank of America dropped their price objective on shares of Agilent Technologies from $153.00 to $150.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday, December 13th. Sanford C. Bernstein reduced their target price on shares of Agilent Technologies from $140.00 to $135.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, November 26th. Finally, Robert W. Baird dropped their price target on shares of Agilent Technologies from $161.00 to $159.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $146.15.

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.