Everence Capital Management Inc. Has $1.05 Million Stock Holdings in Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A)

Everence Capital Management Inc. reduced its stake in Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A) by 23.6% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 7,785 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 2,400 shares during the period. Everence Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Agilent Technologies were worth $1,046,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its holdings in Agilent Technologies by 102.5% in the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 3,983 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $535,000 after purchasing an additional 2,016 shares during the period. Versant Capital Management Inc raised its stake in Agilent Technologies by 102.4% during the 4th quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 1,164 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $156,000 after buying an additional 589 shares during the period. Dudley & Shanley Inc. acquired a new stake in Agilent Technologies during the 3rd quarter worth $8,300,000. Tidal Investments LLC increased its holdings in shares of Agilent Technologies by 8.2% in the third quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 14,752 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $2,187,000 after acquiring an additional 1,113 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB bought a new stake in shares of Agilent Technologies in the third quarter worth about $535,000. 87.42% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Agilent Technologies Trading Up 1.7 %

NYSE A opened at $135.69 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $38.75 billion, a PE ratio of 30.70, a PEG ratio of 4.48 and a beta of 1.07. Agilent Technologies, Inc. has a 12 month low of $124.16 and a 12 month high of $155.35. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $135.39 and a 200-day moving average of $136.61. The company has a current ratio of 2.09, a quick ratio of 1.58 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57.

Agilent Technologies (NYSE:A) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, November 25th. The medical research company reported $1.46 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.41 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $1.70 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.67 billion. Agilent Technologies had a net margin of 19.80% and a return on equity of 25.43%. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.38 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up .8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Agilent Technologies, Inc. will post 5.56 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Agilent Technologies Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 22nd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st will be given a $0.248 dividend. This represents a $0.99 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.73%. This is a boost from Agilent Technologies’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.24. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, December 31st. Agilent Technologies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 22.40%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Bank of America decreased their price objective on Agilent Technologies from $153.00 to $150.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Evercore ISI raised their price objective on shares of Agilent Technologies from $135.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 1st. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on shares of Agilent Technologies from $157.00 to $155.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, December 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on Agilent Technologies from $165.00 to $160.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, November 26th. Finally, Barclays reduced their price objective on Agilent Technologies from $145.00 to $135.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, November 27th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $143.62.

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.