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

Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A) VP Rodney Gonsalves sold 1,908 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 17th. The shares were 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 owns 21,786 shares in the company, valued at $2,657,456.28. The trade was a 8.05 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink.

Agilent Technologies Price Performance

Shares of Agilent Technologies stock opened at $122.27 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $34.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.11, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.44 and a beta of 1.11. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56, a quick ratio of 1.66 and a current ratio of 2.20. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $137.41 and a 200-day moving average price of $137.57. Agilent Technologies, Inc. has a one year low of $117.17 and a one year high of $155.35.

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

Agilent Technologies Dividend Announcement

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently commented on A shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on Agilent Technologies from $165.00 to $160.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, November 26th. Citigroup boosted their target price on shares of Agilent Technologies to $165.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, December 19th. Barclays raised shares of Agilent Technologies from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and raised their target price for the company from $135.00 to $145.00 in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on shares of Agilent Technologies from $157.00 to $155.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, December 9th. Finally, Robert W. Baird cut their price objective on Agilent Technologies from $161.00 to $159.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $146.15.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. CKW Financial Group boosted its stake in shares of Agilent Technologies by 114.9% during 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 period. Global X Japan Co. Ltd. boosted its position in 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 during the period. Redwood Park Advisors LLC bought a new position in Agilent Technologies in the 4th quarter worth about $27,000. Lee Danner & Bass Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Agilent Technologies during the fourth quarter worth approximately $29,000. Finally, Sunbelt Securities Inc. raised its stake in shares of Agilent Technologies by 640.0% during 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 in the last quarter.

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.