Aptus Capital Advisors LLC Raises Position in Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A)

Aptus Capital Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A) by 21.1% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 2,201 shares of the medical research company’s stock after buying an additional 383 shares during the period. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC’s holdings in Agilent Technologies were worth $296,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of A. CKW Financial Group increased its stake in Agilent Technologies by 114.9% in the 4th quarter. CKW Financial Group now owns 187 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 100 shares during the period. Global X Japan Co. Ltd. increased its position in shares of Agilent Technologies by 161.1% during the fourth quarter. Global X Japan Co. Ltd. now owns 188 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 116 shares during the period. Redwood Park Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Agilent Technologies in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Lee Danner & Bass Inc. bought a new position in Agilent Technologies in the fourth quarter worth approximately $29,000. Finally, Hanson & Doremus Investment Management increased its holdings in Agilent Technologies by 66.5% during the 4th quarter. Hanson & Doremus Investment Management now owns 263 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 105 shares during the period.

Insider Activity at Agilent Technologies

In other Agilent Technologies news, VP Rodney Gonsalves sold 1,908 shares of Agilent Technologies stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $121.98, for a total transaction of $232,737.84. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 21,786 shares of the company’s stock, 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 document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Daniel K. Podolsky sold 1,819 shares of Agilent Technologies stock in a transaction on Monday, March 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $116.46, for a total value of $211,840.74. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 35,737 shares in the company, valued at $4,161,931.02. This represents a 4.84 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here.

Agilent Technologies Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE A opened at $108.63 on Friday. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $111.85 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $128.99. The stock has a market cap of $30.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.97, a PEG ratio of 2.97 and a beta of 1.27. The company has a current ratio of 2.20, a quick ratio of 1.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56. Agilent Technologies, Inc. has a 12 month low of $96.43 and a 12 month high of $155.35.

Agilent Technologies (NYSE:A) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 26th. The medical research company reported $1.31 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.27 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $1.68 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.67 billion. Agilent Technologies had a net margin of 19.27% and a return on equity of 25.56%. As a group, analysts predict that Agilent Technologies, Inc. will post 5.54 earnings per share for the current year.

Agilent Technologies Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 23rd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, April 1st were issued a dividend of $0.248 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, April 1st. This represents a $0.99 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.91%. Agilent Technologies’s payout ratio is currently 22.76%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A has been the topic of several recent research reports. Barclays dropped their target price on shares of Agilent Technologies from $138.00 to $115.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 10th. TD Cowen lifted their price objective on shares of Agilent Technologies to $135.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, April 10th. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their target price on Agilent Technologies from $135.00 to $116.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 21st. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on Agilent Technologies from $155.00 to $135.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. Finally, Robert W. Baird decreased their price target on shares of 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 research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $143.00.

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.