Franklin Resources Inc. Sells 512,025 Shares of Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A)

Franklin Resources Inc. reduced its holdings in shares of Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A) by 28.7% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,269,218 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 512,025 shares during the quarter. Franklin Resources Inc.’s holdings in Agilent Technologies were worth $170,507,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. CKW Financial Group boosted its position in Agilent Technologies by 114.9% during the fourth quarter. CKW Financial Group now owns 187 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the period. Global X Japan Co. Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of Agilent Technologies by 161.1% during the 4th quarter. Global X Japan Co. Ltd. now owns 188 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 116 shares during the last quarter. Lee Danner & Bass Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Agilent Technologies during the 4th quarter worth about $29,000. Hanson & Doremus Investment Management grew its stake in Agilent Technologies by 66.5% in the 4th quarter. Hanson & Doremus Investment Management now owns 263 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $35,000 after buying an additional 105 shares during the last quarter. Finally, OFI Invest Asset Management bought a new position in Agilent Technologies in the 4th quarter valued at about $37,000.

Insider Activity at Agilent Technologies

In related news, CEO Padraig Mcdonnell sold 1,911 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $150.00, for a total transaction of $286,650.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 39,652 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,947,800. This trade represents a 4.60 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, VP Rodney Gonsalves sold 1,908 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $121.98, for a total value of $232,737.84. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here.

Agilent Technologies Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:A opened at $113.67 on Wednesday. Agilent Technologies, Inc. has a 1 year low of $113.36 and a 1 year high of $155.35. The stock has a market capitalization of $32.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.13, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.28 and a beta of 1.19. 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 company’s 50 day simple moving average is $132.90 and its 200 day simple moving average is $136.32.

Agilent Technologies (NYSE:A) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 26th. The medical research company reported $1.31 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.27 by $0.04. Agilent Technologies had a return on equity of 25.56% and a net margin of 19.27%. The company had revenue of $1.68 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.67 billion. As a group, research analysts predict that Agilent Technologies, Inc. will post 5.57 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Agilent Technologies Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 23rd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, April 1st will be issued a $0.248 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 1st. This represents a $0.99 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.87%. Agilent Technologies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 22.76%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. StockNews.com upgraded Agilent Technologies from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 24th. Bank of America decreased their price objective on Agilent Technologies from $153.00 to $150.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, December 13th. Robert W. Baird dropped their target price on Agilent Technologies from $161.00 to $159.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 27th. Citigroup upped their price target on shares of Agilent Technologies to $165.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. Finally, Barclays upgraded shares of 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 note on Monday, February 10th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Agilent Technologies has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $150.83.

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.