Naples Global Advisors LLC Buys 1,590 Shares of Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A)

Naples Global Advisors LLC increased its position in Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A) by 11.2% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 15,820 shares of the medical research company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,590 shares during the period. Naples Global Advisors LLC’s holdings in Agilent Technologies were worth $2,129,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its stake in Agilent Technologies by 3.5% during the 3rd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 15,589,874 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $2,314,784,000 after purchasing an additional 525,214 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Agilent Technologies by 62.2% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,287,665 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $191,193,000 after purchasing an additional 493,947 shares in the last quarter. Worldquant Millennium Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Agilent Technologies during the third quarter valued at $49,449,000. Van ECK Associates Corp increased its holdings in Agilent Technologies by 8.7% in the 4th quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 3,235,263 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $434,625,000 after buying an additional 258,358 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Jennison Associates LLC raised its position in Agilent Technologies by 63.3% in the 3rd quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 586,439 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $87,075,000 after buying an additional 227,431 shares during the last quarter.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Agilent Technologies news, CEO Padraig Mcdonnell sold 1,911 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 directly owns 39,652 shares in the company, valued at $5,947,800. This represents a 4.60 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website.

Agilent Technologies Stock Performance

Shares of A opened at $138.07 on Thursday. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $141.72 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $139.46. The company has a quick ratio of 1.58, a current ratio of 2.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57. Agilent Technologies, Inc. has a 52 week low of $124.16 and a 52 week high of $155.35. The stock has a market cap of $39.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.24, a PEG ratio of 4.00 and a beta of 1.07.

Agilent Technologies (NYSE:A) last released its earnings results on Monday, November 25th. The medical research company reported $1.46 earnings per share (EPS) 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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.67 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.38 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up .8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts expect that Agilent Technologies, Inc. will post 5.56 EPS for the current year.

Agilent Technologies Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 22nd. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 31st were paid a dividend of $0.248 per share. This is a boost from Agilent Technologies’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.24. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, December 31st. This represents a $0.99 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.72%. Agilent Technologies’s payout ratio is 22.40%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Bank of America dropped their price target on shares of Agilent Technologies from $153.00 to $150.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, December 13th. Citigroup raised their target price on shares of Agilent Technologies to $165.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, December 19th. Barclays raised shares of Agilent Technologies from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $135.00 to $145.00 in a research report on Monday. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on Agilent Technologies from $157.00 to $155.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, December 9th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on Agilent Technologies from $165.00 to $160.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, November 26th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Agilent Technologies currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $144.38.

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.