Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A) Shares Bought by CENTRAL TRUST Co

CENTRAL TRUST Co lifted its holdings in shares of Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A) by 35.5% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 2,506 shares of the medical research company’s stock after buying an additional 657 shares during the period. CENTRAL TRUST Co’s holdings in Agilent Technologies were worth $337,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. McAdam LLC lifted its position in shares of Agilent Technologies by 3.1% during the third quarter. McAdam LLC now owns 2,531 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $376,000 after purchasing an additional 77 shares in the last quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. lifted its holdings in Agilent Technologies by 13.5% in the 3rd quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. now owns 646 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $96,000 after buying an additional 77 shares in the last quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC boosted its position in Agilent Technologies by 3.2% in the 3rd quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 2,570 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $382,000 after buying an additional 79 shares during the last quarter. Rovin Capital UT ADV boosted its position in Agilent Technologies by 1.6% in the 3rd quarter. Rovin Capital UT ADV now owns 5,049 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $750,000 after buying an additional 81 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Marshall Financial Group LLC increased its position in shares of Agilent Technologies by 1.0% during the third quarter. Marshall Financial Group LLC now owns 8,243 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $1,224,000 after acquiring an additional 82 shares during the last quarter.

Insider Buying and Selling at Agilent Technologies

In other Agilent Technologies news, CEO Padraig Mcdonnell sold 1,911 shares of Agilent Technologies stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $150.00, for a total transaction of $286,650.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 39,652 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,947,800. The trade was a 4.60 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink.

Agilent Technologies Stock Down 1.1 %

NYSE:A opened at $147.06 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 2.09, a quick ratio of 1.58 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $140.80 and a 200-day moving average of $138.96. The firm has a market capitalization of $42.00 billion, a PE ratio of 33.27, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.10 and a beta of 1.07. Agilent Technologies, Inc. has a 52 week low of $124.16 and a 52 week high of $155.35.

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

Agilent Technologies Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 22nd. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 31st were given a $0.248 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, December 31st. This is an increase from Agilent Technologies’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.24. This represents a $0.99 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.67%. Agilent Technologies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 22.40%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Citigroup increased their price target on Agilent Technologies to $165.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, December 19th. 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 research report on Monday, December 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on shares of Agilent Technologies from $165.00 to $160.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, November 26th. StockNews.com raised shares of Agilent Technologies from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 24th. Finally, Barclays cut their target price on shares of Agilent Technologies from $145.00 to $135.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, November 27th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $143.62.

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.