Pensionfund Sabic Decreases Stock Holdings in Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A)

Pensionfund Sabic lessened its stake in Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A) by 35.3% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 5,500 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 3,000 shares during the quarter. Pensionfund Sabic’s holdings in Agilent Technologies were worth $817,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in A. CWM LLC raised its position in shares of Agilent Technologies by 1.3% during the 3rd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 11,491 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $1,706,000 after purchasing an additional 153 shares during the last quarter. Osher Van de Voorde Investment Management increased its stake in Agilent Technologies by 58.5% during the 3rd quarter. Osher Van de Voorde Investment Management now owns 106,610 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $15,829,000 after buying an additional 39,355 shares in the last quarter. Brookstone Capital Management raised its holdings in shares of Agilent Technologies by 12.1% during the third quarter. Brookstone Capital Management now owns 1,903 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $283,000 after acquiring an additional 205 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its stake in shares of Agilent Technologies by 24.3% in the third quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,967 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $292,000 after acquiring an additional 384 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Czech National Bank increased its position in shares of Agilent Technologies by 6.5% during the third 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 in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.42% of the company’s stock.

Agilent Technologies Stock Down 1.4 %

A stock opened at $142.76 on Friday. Agilent Technologies, Inc. has a twelve month low of $96.80 and a twelve month high of $155.35. The stock has a market cap of $41.65 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.75, a PEG ratio of 6.48 and a beta of 1.05. The company has a current ratio of 1.78, a quick ratio of 1.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36. The company’s 50 day moving average is $140.42 and its two-hundred day moving average is $138.96.

Agilent Technologies (NYSE:A) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 21st. The medical research company reported $1.32 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.26 by $0.06. Agilent Technologies had a net margin of 21.75% and a return on equity of 25.26%. The firm had revenue of $1.58 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.56 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.43 EPS. Agilent Technologies’s revenue for the quarter was down 5.6% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts expect that Agilent Technologies, Inc. will post 5.24 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Agilent Technologies Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 23rd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, October 1st will be issued a $0.236 dividend. This represents a $0.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.66%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, October 1st. Agilent Technologies’s payout ratio is currently 22.22%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, SVP Dominique Grau sold 9,990 shares of Agilent Technologies stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $145.00, for a total value of $1,448,550.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 40,011 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,801,595. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other news, SVP Dominique Grau sold 9,990 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $145.00, for a total value of $1,448,550.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 40,011 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,801,595. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Padraig Mcdonnell sold 1,958 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $145.00, for a total value of $283,910.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 24,118 shares in the company, valued at $3,497,110. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 13,953 shares of company stock valued at $2,013,630 over the last three months. 0.33% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently commented on A shares. Citigroup increased their price objective on Agilent Technologies from $150.00 to $165.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 22nd. Wolfe Research lowered shares of Agilent Technologies from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, June 27th. Stifel Nicolaus reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $151.00 price objective on shares of Agilent Technologies in a research note on Monday, August 26th. Evercore ISI raised their target price on shares of Agilent Technologies from $135.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 1st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company initiated coverage on Agilent Technologies in a report on Tuesday, August 27th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $157.00 price target for the company. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $143.64.

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.