Ashton Thomas Securities LLC Takes Position in Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A)

Ashton Thomas Securities LLC acquired a new position in Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A) in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 210 shares of the medical research company’s stock, valued at approximately $31,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of A. Western Pacific Wealth Management LP grew its stake in shares of Agilent Technologies by 18.9% in the first quarter. Western Pacific Wealth Management LP now owns 440 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $64,000 after acquiring an additional 70 shares during the period. Menard Financial Group LLC raised its stake in Agilent Technologies by 1.6% during the 2nd quarter. Menard Financial Group LLC now owns 4,845 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $628,000 after buying an additional 77 shares during the last quarter. McAdam LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Agilent Technologies by 3.1% during the 3rd quarter. McAdam LLC now owns 2,531 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $376,000 after buying an additional 77 shares during the period. Global Retirement Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of Agilent Technologies by 3.2% in the third quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 2,570 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $382,000 after acquiring an additional 79 shares during the period. Finally, Rovin Capital UT ADV increased its position in Agilent Technologies by 1.6% during the third quarter. Rovin Capital UT ADV now owns 5,049 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $750,000 after acquiring an additional 81 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.42% of the company’s stock.

Agilent Technologies Stock Down 3.0 %

Shares of A opened at $130.22 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $37.42 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.02, a PEG ratio of 5.88 and a beta of 1.07. Agilent Technologies, Inc. has a 12 month low of $111.33 and a 12 month high of $155.35. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $139.09 and its two-hundred day moving average is $138.14. The company has a current ratio of 1.78, a quick ratio of 1.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36.

Agilent Technologies (NYSE:A) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, August 21st. The medical research company reported $1.32 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.26 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $1.58 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.56 billion. Agilent Technologies had a return on equity of 25.26% and a net margin of 21.75%. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 5.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.43 earnings per share. Analysts predict that Agilent Technologies, Inc. will post 5.24 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Agilent Technologies Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, October 23rd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, October 1st were paid a $0.236 dividend. This represents a $0.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.72%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, October 1st. Agilent Technologies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 19.50%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently issued reports on A shares. Citigroup boosted their target price on shares of Agilent Technologies from $150.00 to $165.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 22nd. TD Cowen upped their price objective on Agilent Technologies from $153.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 22nd. Barclays lifted their target price on Agilent Technologies from $135.00 to $145.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 15th. Wells Fargo & Company began coverage on Agilent Technologies in a research report on Tuesday, August 27th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $157.00 price target for the company. Finally, Evercore ISI lifted their price objective on Agilent Technologies from $135.00 to $145.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 1st. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $144.36.

Insider Transactions at Agilent Technologies

In related news, SVP Dominique Grau sold 9,990 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $145.00, for a total value of $1,448,550.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 40,011 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,801,595. This represents a 19.98 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Padraig Mcdonnell sold 1,958 shares of Agilent Technologies stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $145.00, for a total transaction of $283,910.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 24,118 shares in the company, valued at $3,497,110. This trade represents a 7.51 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 11,995 shares of company stock worth $1,739,510 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

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.