Kentucky Retirement Systems Trims Stock Position in Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A)

Kentucky Retirement Systems cut its stake in shares of Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A) by 1.4% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 20,049 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 277 shares during the quarter. Kentucky Retirement Systems’ holdings in Agilent Technologies were worth $2,693,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. CKW Financial Group raised its stake in Agilent Technologies by 114.9% during the 4th quarter. CKW Financial Group now owns 187 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. Global X Japan Co. Ltd. raised its stake in Agilent Technologies by 161.1% during the 4th quarter. Global X Japan Co. Ltd. now owns 188 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 116 shares during the last quarter. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC purchased a new position in shares of Agilent Technologies during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $31,000. Fortitude Family Office LLC raised its stake in shares of Agilent Technologies by 68.3% during the 3rd quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 234 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $35,000 after buying an additional 95 shares in the last quarter. Finally, RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC purchased a new position in shares of Agilent Technologies during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $38,000.

Insider Activity

In other 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 transaction of $286,650.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 39,652 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,947,800. This represents a 4.60 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink.

Agilent Technologies Stock Performance

Shares of A stock opened at $135.33 on Friday. Agilent Technologies, Inc. has a 12-month low of $124.16 and a 12-month high of $155.35. The firm has a market capitalization of $38.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.62, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.71 and a beta of 1.07. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $140.97 and a 200 day simple moving average of $139.31. 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 (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.41 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $1.70 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.67 billion. Agilent Technologies had a return on equity of 25.43% and a net margin of 19.80%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up .8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.38 EPS. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Agilent Technologies, Inc. will post 5.56 EPS for the current year.

Agilent Technologies Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 23rd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, April 1st will be given a $0.248 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 1st. This represents a $0.99 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.73%. Agilent Technologies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 22.40%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on A. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on Agilent Technologies from $165.00 to $160.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, November 26th. Wells Fargo & Company cut 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. Citigroup increased their target price on Agilent Technologies to $165.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. Barclays raised Agilent Technologies from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $135.00 to $145.00 in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Finally, Bank of America dropped their price objective 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. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Agilent Technologies presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $144.38.

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.