Legal & General Group Plc Sells 72,001 Shares of Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A)

Legal & General Group Plc reduced its holdings in shares of Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A) by 2.4% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 2,942,000 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 72,001 shares during the quarter. Legal & General Group Plc owned 1.01% of Agilent Technologies worth $381,372,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of A. Crewe Advisors LLC raised its position in Agilent Technologies by 114.8% in the 2nd quarter. Crewe Advisors LLC now owns 189 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 101 shares during the last quarter. Livelsberger Financial Advisory purchased a new position in shares of Agilent Technologies during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Ridgewood Investments LLC purchased a new position in shares of Agilent Technologies during the second quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Rise Advisors LLC lifted its position in Agilent Technologies by 527.8% during the first quarter. Rise Advisors LLC now owns 226 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 190 shares during the period. Finally, YHB Investment Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in Agilent Technologies in the 1st quarter worth approximately $34,000. 87.42% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Agilent Technologies

In other Agilent Technologies news, SVP Dominique Grau sold 9,990 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $145.00, for a total transaction of $1,448,550.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 40,011 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,801,595. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, SVP Dominique Grau sold 9,990 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $145.00, for a total value of $1,448,550.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 40,011 shares in the company, valued at $5,801,595. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Padraig Mcdonnell sold 1,958 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $145.00, for a total value of $283,910.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 24,118 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,497,110. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 13,906 shares of company stock worth $2,006,580. Insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on A. Evercore ISI raised their price target on Agilent Technologies from $130.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 22nd. Citigroup raised their target price on Agilent Technologies from $150.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 22nd. Stifel Nicolaus reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $151.00 price target on shares of Agilent Technologies in a research report on Monday, August 26th. UBS Group raised their price objective on shares of Agilent Technologies from $141.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, August 22nd. Finally, TD Cowen upped their target price on shares of Agilent Technologies from $153.00 to $160.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 22nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Agilent Technologies has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $142.93.

Agilent Technologies Price Performance

NYSE:A opened at $148.06 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $43.20 billion, a PE ratio of 35.00, a P/E/G ratio of 6.48 and a beta of 1.05. The company has a quick ratio of 1.37, a current ratio of 1.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $138.91 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $139.05. Agilent Technologies, Inc. has a 52 week low of $96.80 and a 52 week high of $155.35.

Agilent Technologies (NYSE:A) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 21st. The medical research company reported $1.32 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.26 by $0.06. Agilent Technologies had a return on equity of 25.26% and a net margin of 21.75%. The company had revenue of $1.58 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.56 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.43 EPS. The firm’s revenue was down 5.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts forecast that Agilent Technologies, Inc. will post 5.24 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Agilent Technologies Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 23rd. Investors of record on Tuesday, October 1st will be paid a dividend of $0.236 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, October 1st. This represents a $0.94 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.64%. Agilent Technologies’s payout ratio is 22.22%.

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.