Northwest Investment Counselors LLC Grows Stock Holdings in Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A)

Northwest Investment Counselors LLC grew its holdings in Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A) by 0.7% during the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 23,760 shares of the medical research company’s stock after purchasing an additional 155 shares during the quarter. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC’s holdings in Agilent Technologies were worth $3,528,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of A. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Agilent Technologies by 18.2% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 29,884,345 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $4,348,471,000 after buying an additional 4,605,228 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its position in shares of Agilent Technologies by 5.7% during the 2nd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 15,064,660 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $1,952,832,000 after buying an additional 809,149 shares during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its position in shares of Agilent Technologies by 13.9% during the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 8,542,054 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $1,242,956,000 after buying an additional 1,042,926 shares during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp raised its position in shares of Agilent Technologies by 0.7% during the 2nd quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 2,793,189 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $362,081,000 after buying an additional 18,205 shares during the period. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB raised its position in shares of Agilent Technologies by 4.4% during the 1st quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 2,783,238 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $406,715,000 after buying an additional 116,822 shares during the period. 87.42% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Agilent Technologies Price Performance

Shares of A traded down $2.18 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $136.65. 436,718 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,683,360. Agilent Technologies, Inc. has a 52-week low of $96.80 and a 52-week high of $155.35. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $141.02 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $138.73. The company has a market cap of $39.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.82, a PEG ratio of 6.96 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.

Agilent Technologies (NYSE:A) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, August 21st. The medical research company reported $1.32 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.26 by $0.06. Agilent Technologies had a net margin of 21.75% and a return on equity of 25.26%. The firm had revenue of $1.58 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.56 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.43 earnings per share. Agilent Technologies’s revenue was down 5.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Agilent Technologies, Inc. will post 5.24 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Agilent Technologies Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 23rd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, October 1st will be issued a $0.236 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, October 1st. This represents a $0.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.69%. Agilent Technologies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 22.22%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently commented on A shares. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Agilent Technologies from $135.00 to $145.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 15th. Bank of America lifted their target price on shares of Agilent Technologies from $140.00 to $147.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, August 22nd. Stifel Nicolaus reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $151.00 target price on shares of Agilent Technologies in a report on Monday, August 26th. Evercore ISI lifted their target price on shares of Agilent Technologies from $135.00 to $145.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 1st. Finally, Wolfe Research downgraded shares of Agilent Technologies from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a report on Thursday, June 27th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Agilent Technologies presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $144.36.

Insider Buying and Selling at Agilent Technologies

In other Agilent Technologies news, CEO Padraig Mcdonnell sold 1,958 shares of Agilent Technologies stock in a transaction on Friday, July 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $140.00, for a total value of $274,120.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 26,076 shares in the company, valued at $3,650,640. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In other Agilent Technologies news, CEO Padraig Mcdonnell sold 1,958 shares of Agilent Technologies stock in a transaction on Friday, July 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $140.00, for a total value of $274,120.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 26,076 shares in the company, valued at $3,650,640. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, SVP Dominique Grau sold 9,990 shares of Agilent Technologies stock in a transaction on 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 in the company, valued at approximately $5,801,595. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 13,953 shares of company stock worth $2,013,630 in the last quarter. 0.33% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Agilent Technologies 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.