Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC Acquires New Position in Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A)

Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A) in the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm acquired 298 shares of the medical research company’s stock, valued at approximately $39,000.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Quest Partners LLC increased its holdings in Agilent Technologies by 247.9% during the 2nd quarter. Quest Partners LLC now owns 1,562 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $202,000 after acquiring an additional 1,113 shares in the last quarter. Oak Thistle LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Agilent Technologies during the second quarter worth about $371,000. Werba Rubin Papier Wealth Management purchased a new stake in Agilent Technologies in the second quarter valued at approximately $343,000. Caprock Group LLC grew its holdings in Agilent Technologies by 35.4% in the second quarter. Caprock Group LLC now owns 8,089 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $1,049,000 after purchasing an additional 2,115 shares during the period. Finally, Acadian Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in Agilent Technologies by 142.2% in the second quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 7,616 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $985,000 after purchasing an additional 4,472 shares during the period. 87.42% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on shares of Agilent Technologies from $165.00 to $155.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, May 30th. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Agilent Technologies from $125.00 to $135.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Friday, August 23rd. UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of Agilent Technologies from $141.00 to $150.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 22nd. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a “hold” rating and set a $135.00 price target (down from $152.00) on shares of Agilent Technologies in a research report on Monday, June 3rd. Finally, Wolfe Research cut shares of Agilent Technologies from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, June 27th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Agilent Technologies has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $141.60.

Insider Transactions at Agilent Technologies

In other news, CEO Padraig Mcdonnell sold 1,958 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $145.00, for a total transaction of $283,910.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 24,118 shares in the company, valued at $3,497,110. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

Agilent Technologies Stock Up 0.7 %

A stock opened at $138.31 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a current ratio of 1.78 and a quick ratio of 1.37. Agilent Technologies, Inc. has a 1-year low of $96.80 and a 1-year high of $155.35. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $137.00 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $139.25. The firm has a market cap of $40.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.70, a PEG ratio of 6.43 and a beta of 1.05.

Agilent Technologies (NYSE:A) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 21st. The medical research company reported $1.32 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.26 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $1.58 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.56 billion. Agilent Technologies had a net margin of 21.75% and a return on equity of 25.26%. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 5.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.43 earnings per share. Research analysts predict that Agilent Technologies, Inc. will post 5.24 EPS for the current year.

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.