Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management Boosts Stock Position in Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A)

Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management raised its stake in Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A) by 9.4% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 3,442 shares of the medical research company’s stock after purchasing an additional 296 shares during the quarter. Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management’s holdings in Agilent Technologies were worth $462,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of A. McAdam LLC increased its position in Agilent Technologies by 3.1% during the 3rd quarter. McAdam LLC now owns 2,531 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $376,000 after purchasing an additional 77 shares during the period. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. grew its holdings in Agilent Technologies by 13.5% during the third quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. now owns 646 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $96,000 after acquiring an additional 77 shares during the period. Global Retirement Partners LLC lifted its holdings in Agilent Technologies by 3.2% in the third quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 2,570 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $382,000 after acquiring an additional 79 shares during the period. Rovin Capital UT ADV boosted its position in shares of Agilent Technologies by 1.6% during the 3rd quarter. Rovin Capital UT ADV now owns 5,049 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $750,000 after purchasing an additional 81 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Marshall Financial Group LLC grew its stake in shares of Agilent Technologies by 1.0% during the 3rd quarter. Marshall Financial Group LLC now owns 8,243 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $1,224,000 after purchasing an additional 82 shares during the period.

Agilent Technologies Trading Down 2.1 %

Agilent Technologies stock opened at $147.20 on Thursday. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $139.40 and a 200 day moving average price of $138.50. 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, Inc. has a 52 week low of $124.16 and a 52 week high of $155.35. The firm has a market capitalization of $42.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.30, a P/E/G ratio of 4.12 and a beta of 1.06.

Agilent Technologies (NYSE:A) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, November 25th. The medical research company reported $1.46 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.41 by $0.05. Agilent Technologies had a return on equity of 25.43% and a net margin of 19.80%. The firm had revenue of $1.70 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.67 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.38 earnings per share. Agilent Technologies’s quarterly revenue was up .8% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts forecast 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. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st were paid a $0.248 dividend. This is a positive change from Agilent Technologies’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.24. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, December 31st. This represents a $0.99 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.67%. Agilent Technologies’s dividend payout ratio is presently 22.40%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have commented on the company. Barclays cut their price objective on Agilent Technologies from $145.00 to $135.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, November 27th. Sanford C. Bernstein decreased their price target on Agilent Technologies from $140.00 to $135.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, November 26th. StockNews.com raised shares of Agilent Technologies from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 24th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased 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. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on shares of Agilent Technologies from $165.00 to $160.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, November 26th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $143.62.

Insider Activity

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

Agilent Technologies Company 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.