Fenimore Asset Management Inc Sells 3,416 Shares of Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A)

Fenimore Asset Management Inc lowered its holdings in shares of Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A) by 1.9% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 176,057 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 3,416 shares during the period. Fenimore Asset Management Inc owned approximately 0.06% of Agilent Technologies worth $20,595,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Redwood Park Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Agilent Technologies in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Lee Danner & Bass Inc. bought a new stake in Agilent Technologies in the 4th quarter valued at about $29,000. Sunbelt Securities Inc. raised its stake in Agilent Technologies by 640.0% in the 4th 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 during the period. Whipplewood Advisors LLC raised its stake in Agilent Technologies by 286.2% in the 1st quarter. Whipplewood Advisors LLC now owns 251 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 186 shares during the period. Finally, Wood Tarver Financial Group LLC purchased a new position in Agilent Technologies during the 4th quarter valued at about $34,000.

Insider Transactions at Agilent Technologies

In related news, VP Rodney Gonsalves sold 1,908 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $121.98, for a total transaction of $232,737.84. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 21,786 shares in the company, valued at $2,657,456.28. This represents a 8.05% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director Daniel K. Podolsky sold 1,819 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $116.46, for a total value of $211,840.74. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 35,737 shares in the company, valued at $4,161,931.02. This represents a 4.84% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have weighed in on A. Jefferies Financial Group reduced 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. TD Cowen boosted their target price on Agilent Technologies to $150.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on Agilent Technologies from $160.00 to $155.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, May 29th. Barclays decreased their target price on Agilent Technologies from $138.00 to $115.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 10th. Finally, Leerink Partners upped their target price on Agilent Technologies to $135.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, May 30th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $140.15.

Agilent Technologies Stock Performance

NYSE:A opened at $115.90 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 2.09, a quick ratio of 1.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55. Agilent Technologies, Inc. has a 12-month low of $96.43 and a 12-month high of $153.84. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $108.10 and a 200 day moving average price of $125.89. The stock has a market capitalization of $32.92 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.62, a P/E/G ratio of 3.52 and a beta of 1.23.

Agilent Technologies (NYSE:A) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 28th. The medical research company reported $1.31 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.26 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $1.67 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.63 billion. Agilent Technologies had a return on equity of 25.92% and a net margin of 17.59%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.22 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that Agilent Technologies, Inc. will post 5.58 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Agilent Technologies Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 23rd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, July 1st will be issued a $0.248 dividend. This represents a $0.99 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.86%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, July 1st. Agilent Technologies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 24.44%.

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.