Tower Research Capital LLC TRC Acquires 10,602 Shares of Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A)

Tower Research Capital LLC TRC increased its holdings in shares of Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A) by 127.3% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 18,931 shares of the medical research company’s stock after buying an additional 10,602 shares during the period. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC’s holdings in Agilent Technologies were worth $2,543,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of A. Flynn Zito Capital Management LLC grew its position in Agilent Technologies by 3.8% during the 4th quarter. Flynn Zito Capital Management LLC now owns 1,871 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $251,000 after purchasing an additional 69 shares during the last quarter. IFP Advisors Inc grew its holdings in shares of Agilent Technologies by 17.7% during the fourth quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 458 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $62,000 after buying an additional 69 shares during the last quarter. Tiemann Investment Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Agilent Technologies by 5.6% during the fourth quarter. Tiemann Investment Advisors LLC now owns 1,423 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $191,000 after acquiring an additional 75 shares in the last quarter. Rothschild Investment LLC raised its holdings in Agilent Technologies by 19.2% in the 4th quarter. Rothschild Investment LLC now owns 491 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $66,000 after acquiring an additional 79 shares during the last quarter. Finally, CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC lifted its position in Agilent Technologies by 1.2% in the 4th quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 7,479 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $1,025,000 after acquiring an additional 87 shares in the last quarter.

Agilent Technologies Trading Down 2.1 %

Shares of A stock opened at $100.29 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56, a quick ratio of 1.66 and a current ratio of 2.20. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $118.79 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $132.00. The firm has a market capitalization of $28.59 billion, a PE ratio of 23.06, a PEG ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 1.19. Agilent Technologies, Inc. has a 52-week low of $96.43 and a 52-week high of $155.35.

Agilent Technologies (NYSE:A) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 26th. The medical research company reported $1.31 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.27 by $0.04. Agilent Technologies had a return on equity of 25.56% and a net margin of 19.27%. The company had revenue of $1.68 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.67 billion. On average, analysts predict that Agilent Technologies, Inc. will post 5.54 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Agilent Technologies Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 23rd. Investors of record on Tuesday, April 1st will be paid a dividend of $0.248 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 1st. This represents a $0.99 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.99%. Agilent Technologies’s payout ratio is 22.76%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Agilent Technologies

In related news, Director Daniel K. Podolsky sold 1,819 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $116.46, for a total value of $211,840.74. Following the sale, the director now owns 35,737 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,161,931.02. The trade was a 4.84 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, VP Rodney Gonsalves sold 1,908 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $121.98, for a total transaction of $232,737.84. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 21,786 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,657,456.28. The trade was a 8.05 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Barclays decreased their price target on Agilent Technologies from $138.00 to $115.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 10th. Robert W. Baird decreased their target price on Agilent Technologies from $161.00 to $159.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price target on shares of Agilent Technologies from $135.00 to $116.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Monday. TD Cowen boosted their price objective on shares of Agilent Technologies to $135.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, April 10th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Agilent Technologies from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 24th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $143.00.

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.