Entropy Technologies LP Purchases 5,344 Shares of Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A)

Entropy Technologies LP increased its position in shares of Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A) by 25.5% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 26,319 shares of the medical research company’s stock after acquiring an additional 5,344 shares during the period. Entropy Technologies LP’s holdings in Agilent Technologies were worth $3,536,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in A. Livelsberger Financial Advisory bought a new position in shares of Agilent Technologies during the 3rd quarter valued at $28,000. CKW Financial Group boosted its position 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 buying an additional 100 shares during the period. Global X Japan Co. Ltd. boosted its position 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 buying an additional 116 shares during the period. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC purchased a new stake in Agilent Technologies during the 3rd quarter valued at $31,000. Finally, Fortitude Family Office LLC boosted its position in Agilent Technologies by 68.3% during the 3rd quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 234 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $35,000 after buying an additional 95 shares during the period.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on A shares. Barclays dropped their price target on shares of Agilent Technologies from $145.00 to $135.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, November 27th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on shares of Agilent Technologies from $165.00 to $160.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, November 26th. Citigroup raised their target price on shares of Agilent Technologies to $165.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. StockNews.com raised shares of Agilent Technologies from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 24th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price 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. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $143.62.

Agilent Technologies Price Performance

A stock opened at $145.21 on Friday. Agilent Technologies, Inc. has a one year low of $124.16 and a one year high of $155.35. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $141.59 and its 200-day moving average price is $139.28. 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 has a market capitalization of $41.43 billion, a PE ratio of 32.85, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.00 and a beta of 1.07.

Agilent Technologies (NYSE:A) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, November 25th. The medical research company reported $1.46 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 company had revenue of $1.70 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.67 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.38 earnings per share. Agilent Technologies’s quarterly revenue was up .8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Agilent Technologies, Inc. will post 5.56 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Agilent Technologies Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 22nd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st were given a $0.248 dividend. This represents a $0.99 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.68%. This is a boost from Agilent Technologies’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.24. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, December 31st. Agilent Technologies’s payout ratio is 22.40%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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 document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink.

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.