Fiduciary Financial Group LLC Purchases New Holdings in Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A)

Fiduciary Financial Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A) in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm purchased 2,717 shares of the medical research company’s stock, valued at approximately $318,000.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Sienna Gestion lifted its position in Agilent Technologies by 29.8% during the 4th quarter. Sienna Gestion now owns 78,445 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $10,537,000 after acquiring an additional 17,991 shares during the period. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC lifted its position in Agilent Technologies by 8.5% during the 4th quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 33,898 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $4,554,000 after acquiring an additional 2,664 shares during the period. Prudential PLC lifted its position in Agilent Technologies by 16.0% during the 4th quarter. Prudential PLC now owns 73,273 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $9,843,000 after acquiring an additional 10,128 shares during the period. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC lifted its position in Agilent Technologies by 9.8% during the 4th quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 43,862 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $5,892,000 after acquiring an additional 3,915 shares during the period. Finally, Daiwa Securities Group Inc. lifted its position in Agilent Technologies by 16.0% during the 4th quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 49,288 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $6,621,000 after acquiring an additional 6,802 shares during the period.

Agilent Technologies Stock Performance

Shares of A stock opened at $120.72 on Wednesday. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $108.33 and a 200-day moving average price of $125.73. Agilent Technologies, Inc. has a 52 week low of $96.43 and a 52 week high of $153.84. The firm has a market capitalization of $34.29 billion, a PE ratio of 29.81, a P/E/G ratio of 3.54 and a beta of 1.23. The company has a quick ratio of 1.60, a current ratio of 2.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55.

Agilent Technologies (NYSE:A) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 28th. The medical research company reported $1.31 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.26 by $0.05. Agilent Technologies had a net margin of 17.59% and a return on equity of 25.92%. The firm had revenue of $1.67 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.63 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.22 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Agilent Technologies, Inc. will post 5.58 earnings per share for the current year.

Agilent Technologies Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 23rd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, July 1st will be paid a $0.248 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, July 1st. This represents a $0.99 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.82%. Agilent Technologies’s dividend payout ratio is presently 24.44%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on A shares. Barclays lowered their price target on shares of Agilent Technologies from $138.00 to $115.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 10th. UBS Group decreased their target price on shares of Agilent Technologies from $150.00 to $130.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, May 29th. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their target price on shares of Agilent Technologies from $135.00 to $116.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on shares of Agilent Technologies from $160.00 to $155.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, May 29th. Finally, Robert W. Baird decreased their target price on shares of Agilent Technologies from $159.00 to $140.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, May 22nd. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Agilent Technologies has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $140.15.

Insider Transactions at Agilent Technologies

In related news, VP Rodney Gonsalves sold 1,908 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 17th. The shares were 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 approximately $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 SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Daniel K. Podolsky sold 1,819 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $116.46, for a total transaction of $211,840.74. Following the sale, the director now owns 35,737 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,161,931.02. This trade represents a 4.84% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here.

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.