Summitry LLC Boosts Stock Holdings in Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A)

Summitry LLC grew its stake in shares of Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A) by 3.2% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 478,023 shares of the medical research company’s stock after buying an additional 14,854 shares during the period. Agilent Technologies accounts for approximately 3.1% of Summitry LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 12th biggest holding. Summitry LLC owned approximately 0.17% of Agilent Technologies worth $64,218,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Modern Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Agilent Technologies during the 4th quarter worth approximately $288,000. Congress Wealth Management LLC DE grew its stake in Agilent Technologies by 58.0% during the fourth quarter. Congress Wealth Management LLC DE now owns 2,887 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $388,000 after buying an additional 1,060 shares during the period. LPL Financial LLC increased its position in shares of Agilent Technologies by 0.7% in the fourth quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 116,679 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $15,675,000 after acquiring an additional 793 shares in the last quarter. Fox Run Management L.L.C. purchased a new position in shares of Agilent Technologies in the 4th quarter valued at $470,000. Finally, KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS purchased a new position in shares of Agilent Technologies in the 4th quarter valued at $13,569,000.

Agilent Technologies Price Performance

A opened at $120.35 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56, a quick ratio of 1.66 and a current ratio of 2.20. Agilent Technologies, Inc. has a 1-year low of $117.17 and a 1-year high of $155.35. The company has a 50-day moving average of $135.88 and a 200-day moving average of $137.05. The company has a market capitalization of $34.31 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.67, a PEG ratio of 3.42 and a beta of 1.11.

Agilent Technologies (NYSE:A) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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. The firm had revenue of $1.68 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.67 billion. Agilent Technologies had a return on equity of 25.56% and a net margin of 19.27%. Equities analysts expect that Agilent Technologies, Inc. will post 5.57 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Agilent Technologies Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 23rd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, April 1st will be paid 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 yield of 0.82%. Agilent Technologies’s payout ratio is 22.76%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A has been the subject of a number of research reports. Wells Fargo & Company decreased 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on Agilent Technologies from $165.00 to $160.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, November 26th. Barclays upgraded Agilent Technologies from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and increased their target price for the company from $135.00 to $145.00 in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Robert W. Baird reduced their price target on Agilent Technologies from $161.00 to $159.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. Finally, Citigroup increased their price objective on shares of Agilent Technologies to $165.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $146.15.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Agilent Technologies news, VP Rodney Gonsalves sold 1,908 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $121.98, for a total value of $232,737.84. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 21,786 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,657,456.28. This trade represents a 8.05 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Padraig Mcdonnell sold 1,911 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 21st. The stock was 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 $5,947,800. This represents a 4.60 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here.

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.