Beta Wealth Group Inc. Cuts Stake in Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A)

Beta Wealth Group Inc. trimmed its position in Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A) by 5.5% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,787 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 105 shares during the period. Beta Wealth Group Inc.’s holdings in Agilent Technologies were worth $240,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Van ECK Associates Corp increased its position in shares of Agilent Technologies by 6.6% during the third quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 2,976,905 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $442,011,000 after acquiring an additional 183,716 shares during the last quarter. Vestal Point Capital LP purchased a new position in shares of Agilent Technologies during the third quarter worth $14,848,000. Empowered Funds LLC grew its stake in shares of Agilent Technologies by 29.8% in the third quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 30,978 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $4,592,000 after buying an additional 7,111 shares in the last quarter. S.E.E.D. Planning Group LLC raised its holdings in shares of Agilent Technologies by 12.7% in the 4th quarter. S.E.E.D. Planning Group LLC now owns 42,587 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $5,721,000 after buying an additional 4,805 shares during the period. Finally, National Pension Service lifted its stake in Agilent Technologies by 10.8% during the 3rd quarter. National Pension Service now owns 702,631 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $104,327,000 after acquiring an additional 68,670 shares in the last quarter.

Agilent Technologies Stock Performance

Shares of A opened at $134.57 on Tuesday. Agilent Technologies, Inc. has a 1 year low of $124.16 and a 1 year high of $155.35. The stock has a market capitalization of $38.39 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.45, a P/E/G ratio of 4.00 and a beta of 1.07. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57, a quick ratio of 1.58 and a current ratio of 2.09. The company’s fifty day moving average is $141.53 and its two-hundred day moving average is $139.40.

Agilent Technologies (NYSE:A) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, November 25th. The medical research company reported $1.46 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 firm had revenue of $1.70 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.67 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.38 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up .8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Agilent Technologies, Inc. will post 5.56 earnings per share for the current year.

Agilent Technologies Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 22nd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st were given a dividend of $0.248 per share. This is a positive change from Agilent Technologies’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.24. This represents a $0.99 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.74%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, December 31st. Agilent Technologies’s payout ratio is presently 22.40%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on A shares. Bank of America cut their target price on shares of Agilent Technologies from $153.00 to $150.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Sanford C. Bernstein reduced their price objective on Agilent Technologies from $140.00 to $135.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, November 26th. 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced 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. Finally, Citigroup boosted their price objective on shares of Agilent Technologies to $165.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Agilent Technologies has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $144.38.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Padraig Mcdonnell sold 1,911 shares of the firm’s 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 owns 39,652 shares in the company, valued at $5,947,800. This trade represents a 4.60 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website.

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.