Stonebridge Financial Group LLC Invests $62,000 in Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A)

Stonebridge Financial Group LLC acquired a new stake in Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A) during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm acquired 462 shares of the medical research company’s stock, valued at approximately $62,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its holdings in Agilent Technologies by 3.5% during the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 15,589,874 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $2,314,784,000 after buying an additional 525,214 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp boosted its stake in Agilent Technologies by 1.2% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 12,819,897 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $1,903,498,000 after acquiring an additional 158,175 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Agilent Technologies by 0.4% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 6,948,679 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $1,028,241,000 after purchasing an additional 30,610 shares during the period. Nordea Investment Management AB increased its stake in Agilent Technologies by 2.6% in the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 3,198,715 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $431,603,000 after purchasing an additional 80,819 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Van ECK Associates Corp raised its holdings in Agilent Technologies by 6.6% in the third quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 2,976,905 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $442,011,000 after purchasing an additional 183,716 shares during the period.

Insider Activity at Agilent Technologies

In other news, CEO Padraig Mcdonnell sold 1,911 shares of Agilent Technologies stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 21st. The shares were 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 owns 39,652 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,947,800. This trade represents a 4.60 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on A. Citigroup boosted their price target on shares of Agilent Technologies to $165.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, December 19th. Bank of America decreased 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target 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. Barclays upgraded Agilent Technologies from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $135.00 to $145.00 in a research report on Monday. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on Agilent Technologies from $157.00 to $155.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, December 9th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Agilent Technologies has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $144.38.

Agilent Technologies Price Performance

NYSE A opened at $136.51 on Friday. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $141.68 and its 200-day moving average is $139.45. The company has a quick ratio of 1.58, a current ratio of 2.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57. The company has a market capitalization of $38.94 billion, a PE ratio of 30.88, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.00 and a beta of 1.07. Agilent Technologies, Inc. has a 12-month low of $124.16 and a 12-month high of $155.35.

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

Agilent Technologies Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 22nd. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 31st were issued a dividend of $0.248 per share. This represents a $0.99 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.73%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, December 31st. This is a positive change from Agilent Technologies’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.24. Agilent Technologies’s dividend payout ratio is presently 22.40%.

About Agilent Technologies

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.