Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. Grows Stock Position in Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A)

Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A) by 1.4% in the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 10,790 shares of the medical research company’s stock after buying an additional 146 shares during the quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc.’s holdings in Agilent Technologies were worth $1,570,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Nuance Investments LLC acquired a new position in Agilent Technologies during the first quarter worth $15,346,000. Empowered Funds LLC grew its holdings in Agilent Technologies by 15.3% in the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 21,365 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $3,104,000 after purchasing an additional 2,837 shares during the last quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP acquired a new stake in Agilent Technologies in the first quarter valued at $938,000. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. grew its holdings in Agilent Technologies by 46.6% in the first quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. now owns 33,661 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $4,898,000 after purchasing an additional 10,700 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Empirical Finance LLC grew its holdings in Agilent Technologies by 3.4% in the first quarter. Empirical Finance LLC now owns 10,865 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $1,581,000 after purchasing an additional 359 shares during the last quarter.

Agilent Technologies Stock Up 1.1 %

Shares of NYSE:A opened at $132.23 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $38.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.26, a PEG ratio of 4.49 and a beta of 1.05. Agilent Technologies, Inc. has a 12-month low of $96.80 and a 12-month high of $155.35. The company has a current ratio of 2.15, a quick ratio of 1.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $137.49 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $137.70.

Agilent Technologies (NYSE:A) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 29th. The medical research company reported $1.22 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.19 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $1.57 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.58 billion. Agilent Technologies had a return on equity of 26.25% and a net margin of 18.84%. The company’s revenue was down 8.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.27 EPS. On average, research analysts forecast that Agilent Technologies, Inc. will post 5.25 EPS for the current year.

Agilent Technologies Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 24th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, July 2nd will be paid a $0.236 dividend. This represents a $0.94 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.71%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, July 2nd. Agilent Technologies’s dividend payout ratio is currently 22.22%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP Dominique Grau sold 15,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $133.28, for a total transaction of $1,999,200.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 49,486 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,595,494.08. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In related news, CEO Padraig Mcdonnell sold 1,958 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $130.00, for a total transaction of $254,540.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 25,185 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,274,050. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Dominique Grau sold 15,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $133.28, for a total value of $1,999,200.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 49,486 shares in the company, valued at $6,595,494.08. The disclosure for this sale can be found here.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have weighed in on A. Wolfe Research lowered Agilent Technologies from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a report on Thursday, June 27th. Barclays lowered their target price on Agilent Technologies from $135.00 to $125.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, May 31st. Citigroup raised Agilent Technologies from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their target price for the company from $135.00 to $150.00 in a report on Wednesday, July 10th. Oppenheimer lifted their price objective on Agilent Technologies from $67.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 26th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on Agilent Technologies from $165.00 to $155.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, May 30th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $138.06.

Agilent Technologies Profile

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.