Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A) Shares Sold by Bailard Inc.

Bailard Inc. lowered its stake in shares of Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A) by 3.2% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 2,472 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 81 shares during the period. Bailard Inc.’s holdings in Agilent Technologies were worth $344,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in A. GAMMA Investing LLC acquired a new position in Agilent Technologies in the 4th quarter valued at about $117,000. Marks Group Wealth Management Inc acquired a new position in Agilent Technologies in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $232,000. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund grew its position in Agilent Technologies by 46.9% in the fourth quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund now owns 75,572 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $10,507,000 after acquiring an additional 24,125 shares during the period. RWA Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Agilent Technologies during the fourth quarter worth $258,000. Finally, Duality Advisers LP purchased a new stake in Agilent Technologies in the fourth quarter valued at $559,000.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Citigroup increased their price target on Agilent Technologies from $130.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 28th. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Agilent Technologies from $125.00 to $135.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 10th. UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of Agilent Technologies from $130.00 to $155.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 28th. Oppenheimer increased their price objective on shares of Agilent Technologies from $67.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 26th. Finally, Evercore ISI boosted their target price on Agilent Technologies from $132.00 to $145.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 4th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Agilent Technologies presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $141.29.

Agilent Technologies Price Performance

A stock opened at $137.74 on Monday. The business’s 50-day moving average is $141.59 and its two-hundred day moving average is $130.80. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41, a current ratio of 2.68 and a quick ratio of 2.04. The firm has a market capitalization of $40.36 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.80, a P/E/G ratio of 4.17 and a beta of 1.11. Agilent Technologies, Inc. has a 1 year low of $96.80 and a 1 year high of $151.58.

Agilent Technologies (NYSE:A) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, February 27th. The medical research company reported $1.29 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.22 by $0.07. Agilent Technologies had a net margin of 18.35% and a return on equity of 27.09%. The firm had revenue of $1.66 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.59 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.37 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 5.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts anticipate that Agilent Technologies, Inc. will post 5.5 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Agilent Technologies Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 24th. Investors of record on Tuesday, April 2nd were paid a dividend of $0.236 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, April 1st. This represents a $0.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.69%. Agilent Technologies’s payout ratio is currently 22.38%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Heidi Fields sold 1,658 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $144.34, for a total value of $239,315.72. Following the transaction, the director now owns 54,976 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,935,235.84. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In related news, SVP Philip Binns sold 2,827 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $147.54, for a total value of $417,095.58. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 9,997 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,474,957.38. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Heidi Fields sold 1,658 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $144.34, for a total value of $239,315.72. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 54,976 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,935,235.84. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 61,610 shares of company stock worth $9,220,333.

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.