KBC Group NV Lowers Stake in Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A)

KBC Group NV trimmed its holdings in Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A) by 68.2% in the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 79,771 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 170,822 shares during the period. KBC Group NV’s holdings in Agilent Technologies were worth $11,844,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. boosted its position in shares of Agilent Technologies by 7.2% during the 1st quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. now owns 2,902 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $422,000 after purchasing an additional 194 shares in the last quarter. Blair William & Co. IL boosted its position in Agilent Technologies by 13.1% during the first quarter. Blair William & Co. IL now owns 19,575 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $2,848,000 after purchasing an additional 2,271 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Agilent Technologies by 18.2% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 29,884,345 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $4,348,471,000 after buying an additional 4,605,228 shares during the last quarter. TIAA Trust National Association grew its stake in Agilent Technologies by 3.6% in the 1st quarter. TIAA Trust National Association now owns 3,505 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $510,000 after acquiring an additional 121 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board raised its position in Agilent Technologies by 69.5% during the first quarter. Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board now owns 18,550 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $2,699,000 after acquiring an additional 7,604 shares during the last quarter.

Agilent Technologies Trading Down 2.4 %

Shares of A opened at $127.07 on Friday. Agilent Technologies, Inc. has a twelve month low of $112.06 and a twelve month high of $155.35. The firm has a market capitalization of $36.51 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.36, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.91 and a beta of 1.07. 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 stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $138.73 and its 200 day simple moving average is $138.00.

Agilent Technologies (NYSE:A) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 21st. The medical research company reported $1.32 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.26 by $0.06. Agilent Technologies had a return on equity of 25.26% and a net margin of 21.75%. The business had revenue of $1.58 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.56 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.43 EPS. The company’s revenue was down 5.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Agilent Technologies, Inc. will post 5.24 earnings per share for the current year.

Agilent Technologies Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, October 23rd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, October 1st were paid a $0.236 dividend. This represents a $0.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.74%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, October 1st. Agilent Technologies’s dividend payout ratio is presently 19.50%.

Insider Activity at Agilent Technologies

In related news, CEO Padraig Mcdonnell sold 1,958 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $145.00, for a total transaction of $283,910.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 24,118 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,497,110. This trade represents a 7.51 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, SVP Dominique Grau sold 9,990 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $145.00, for a total transaction of $1,448,550.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 40,011 shares in the company, valued at $5,801,595. This represents a 19.98 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 11,995 shares of company stock worth $1,739,510.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. UBS Group raised their price objective on shares of Agilent Technologies from $141.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 22nd. Citigroup raised their price target on Agilent Technologies from $150.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 22nd. TD Cowen upped their price objective on Agilent Technologies from $153.00 to $160.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 22nd. Barclays lifted their price objective on Agilent Technologies from $135.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 15th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus restated a “buy” rating and issued a $151.00 target price on shares of Agilent Technologies in a report on Monday, August 26th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $144.36.

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.