Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A) Shares Acquired by Empowered Funds LLC

Empowered Funds LLC raised its stake in shares of Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A) by 20.4% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 37,285 shares of the medical research company’s stock after purchasing an additional 6,307 shares during the quarter. Empowered Funds LLC’s holdings in Agilent Technologies were worth $5,009,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of A. CKW Financial Group increased its position in shares of Agilent Technologies by 114.9% in the fourth quarter. CKW Financial Group now owns 187 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. Global X Japan Co. Ltd. raised its position in Agilent Technologies by 161.1% in the fourth quarter. Global X Japan Co. Ltd. now owns 188 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 116 shares during the period. Livelsberger Financial Advisory acquired a new position in shares of Agilent Technologies during the third quarter worth about $28,000. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Agilent Technologies in the third quarter worth about $31,000. Finally, Fortitude Family Office LLC raised its holdings 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 valued at $35,000 after buying an additional 95 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.42% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A has been the subject of several recent research reports. Citigroup increased their price objective on shares of Agilent Technologies to $165.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on shares of Agilent Technologies from $157.00 to $155.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, December 9th. Sanford C. Bernstein decreased their price objective on shares of Agilent Technologies from $140.00 to $135.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, November 26th. StockNews.com upgraded Agilent Technologies from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 24th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on Agilent Technologies from $165.00 to $160.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, November 26th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Agilent Technologies currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $144.38.

Agilent Technologies Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE A opened at $141.77 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.58, a current ratio of 2.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $141.67 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $139.43. The stock has a market capitalization of $40.45 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.07, a P/E/G ratio of 4.00 and a beta of 1.07. Agilent Technologies, Inc. has a 52-week low of $124.16 and a 52-week high of $155.35.

Agilent Technologies (NYSE:A) last issued its 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 return on equity of 25.43% and a net margin of 19.80%. The firm had revenue of $1.70 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.67 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.38 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up .8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Agilent Technologies, Inc. will post 5.56 earnings per share for the current year.

Agilent Technologies Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 22nd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st were paid a dividend of $0.248 per share. This represents a $0.99 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.70%. This is a positive change from Agilent Technologies’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.24. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, December 31st. Agilent Technologies’s payout ratio is presently 22.40%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Padraig Mcdonnell sold 1,911 shares of Agilent Technologies stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $150.00, for a total transaction of $286,650.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 39,652 shares in the company, valued at $5,947,800. The trade was a 4.60 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 0.26% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.