HB Wealth Management LLC Reduces Stock Holdings in Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A)

HB Wealth Management LLC lessened its holdings in shares of Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A) by 1.6% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 8,045 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 131 shares during the period. HB Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Agilent Technologies were worth $1,081,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Livelsberger Financial Advisory purchased a new stake in Agilent Technologies in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $28,000. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC acquired a new position in shares of Agilent Technologies in the 3rd quarter valued at $31,000. Fortitude Family Office LLC boosted its holdings in Agilent Technologies by 68.3% during the third quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 234 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $35,000 after buying an additional 95 shares in the last quarter. RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC acquired a new stake in Agilent Technologies during the third quarter valued at $38,000. Finally, Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC purchased a new position in Agilent Technologies in the fourth quarter valued at $46,000.

Agilent Technologies Stock Performance

NYSE A opened at $147.57 on Tuesday. Agilent Technologies, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $124.16 and a fifty-two week high of $155.35. The firm has a market capitalization of $42.15 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.39, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.71 and a beta of 1.06. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $136.48 and its two-hundred day moving average is $137.34. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57, a quick ratio of 1.58 and a current ratio of 2.09.

Agilent Technologies (NYSE:A) last issued its earnings results on Monday, November 25th. The medical research company reported $1.46 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.41 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $1.70 billion for 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%. Agilent Technologies’s quarterly revenue was up .8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.38 earnings per share. On average, research analysts anticipate that Agilent Technologies, Inc. will post 5.56 earnings per share for the current year.

Agilent Technologies Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 22nd. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 31st will be given a dividend of $0.248 per share. This represents a $0.99 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.67%. This is an increase from Agilent Technologies’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.24. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 31st. Agilent Technologies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 22.40%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Citigroup increased their target price on shares of Agilent Technologies to $165.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. Sanford C. Bernstein dropped their price target on shares of Agilent Technologies from $140.00 to $135.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, November 26th. Barclays reduced their price objective on shares of Agilent Technologies from $145.00 to $135.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, November 27th. Bank of America dropped their target price on shares of Agilent Technologies from $153.00 to $150.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on shares of Agilent Technologies from $165.00 to $160.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, November 26th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target 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.