Sound Stewardship LLC Purchases 130 Shares of Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A)

Sound Stewardship LLC lifted its position in shares of Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A) by 4.2% in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 3,257 shares of the medical research company’s stock after buying an additional 130 shares during the quarter. Sound Stewardship LLC’s holdings in Agilent Technologies were worth $381,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of A. Flynn Zito Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Agilent Technologies by 3.8% during the 4th quarter. Flynn Zito Capital Management LLC now owns 1,871 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $251,000 after acquiring an additional 69 shares during the period. IFP Advisors Inc lifted its position in Agilent Technologies by 17.7% during the fourth quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 458 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $62,000 after purchasing an additional 69 shares during the period. Tiemann Investment Advisors LLC grew its stake in Agilent Technologies by 5.6% during the fourth quarter. Tiemann Investment Advisors LLC now owns 1,423 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $191,000 after buying an additional 75 shares in the last quarter. Rothschild Investment LLC increased its holdings in Agilent Technologies by 19.2% in the 4th quarter. Rothschild Investment LLC now owns 491 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $66,000 after buying an additional 79 shares during the period. Finally, CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC raised its position in shares of Agilent Technologies by 1.2% in the 4th quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 7,479 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $1,025,000 after buying an additional 87 shares in the last quarter.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Daniel K. Podolsky sold 1,819 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the director now owns 35,737 shares in the company, valued at $4,161,931.02. The trade was a 4.84% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, VP Rodney Gonsalves sold 1,908 shares of the firm’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 sale, the vice president now owns 21,786 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,657,456.28. This represents a 8.05% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here.

Agilent Technologies Stock Performance

Agilent Technologies stock opened at $118.95 on Friday. The business has a 50 day moving average of $108.98 and a 200-day moving average of $125.58. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55, a current ratio of 2.09 and a quick ratio of 1.60. Agilent Technologies, Inc. has a 1 year low of $96.43 and a 1 year high of $153.84. The company has a market capitalization of $33.79 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.37, a P/E/G ratio of 3.63 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 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.26 by $0.05. Agilent Technologies had a return on equity of 25.92% and a net margin of 17.59%. The firm had revenue of $1.67 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.63 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.22 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 6.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts predict that Agilent Technologies, Inc. will post 5.58 earnings per share for the current year.

Agilent Technologies Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 23rd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, July 1st will be given a $0.248 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, July 1st. This represents a $0.99 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.83%. Agilent Technologies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 24.44%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently issued reports on A. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on shares of Agilent Technologies from $160.00 to $155.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, May 29th. Leerink Partners raised their target price on Agilent Technologies to $135.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, May 30th. UBS Group lowered their price target on 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 dropped their price objective on Agilent Technologies from $135.00 to $116.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 21st. Finally, TD Cowen lifted their target price on Agilent Technologies to $150.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 29th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $140.15.

About Agilent Technologies

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.