First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. Sells 835 Shares of Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A)

First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. reduced its position in Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A) by 11.4% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 6,483 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 835 shares during the period. First Citizens Bank & Trust Co.’s holdings in Agilent Technologies were worth $871,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Livelsberger Financial Advisory purchased a new stake in Agilent Technologies in the third quarter valued at about $28,000. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC acquired a new position in shares of Agilent Technologies during the third quarter valued at about $31,000. Fortitude Family Office LLC raised its position in shares of Agilent Technologies by 68.3% in the 3rd quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 234 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 95 shares during the last quarter. RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC acquired a new stake in Agilent Technologies in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $38,000. Finally, Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC purchased a new stake in Agilent Technologies during the 4th quarter worth approximately $46,000.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Padraig Mcdonnell sold 1,911 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $150.00, for a total value of $286,650.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 39,652 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,947,800. This represents a 4.60 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on shares of Agilent Technologies from $157.00 to $155.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, December 9th. Bank of America reduced their target price on Agilent Technologies from $153.00 to $150.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, December 13th. StockNews.com upgraded Agilent Technologies from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 24th. Barclays reduced their price objective on Agilent Technologies from $145.00 to $135.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, November 27th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on Agilent Technologies from $165.00 to $160.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, November 26th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $143.62.

Agilent Technologies Price Performance

NYSE:A opened at $150.74 on Tuesday. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $138.43 and a 200-day moving average price of $138.23. Agilent Technologies, Inc. has a 1-year low of $124.16 and a 1-year high of $155.35. The firm has a market cap of $43.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.10, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.12 and a beta of 1.06. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57, a current ratio of 2.09 and a quick ratio of 1.58.

Agilent Technologies (NYSE:A) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, November 25th. The medical research company reported $1.46 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.41 by $0.05. Agilent Technologies had a net margin of 19.80% and a return on equity of 25.43%. The business had revenue of $1.70 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.67 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.38 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up .8% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts forecast that Agilent Technologies, Inc. will post 5.56 EPS for the current year.

Agilent Technologies Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 22nd. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 31st were paid a $0.248 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, December 31st. This represents a $0.99 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.66%. This is a boost from Agilent Technologies’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.24. Agilent Technologies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 22.40%.

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.