Rodney Gonsalves Sells 1,908 Shares of Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A) Stock

Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A) VP Rodney Gonsalves sold 1,908 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $121.98, for a total value of $232,737.84. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 21,786 shares in the company, valued at $2,657,456.28. This trade represents a 8.05 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website.

Agilent Technologies Price Performance

A opened at $122.27 on Thursday. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $137.41 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $137.57. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56, a quick ratio of 1.66 and a current ratio of 2.20. The stock has a market capitalization of $34.86 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.11, a P/E/G ratio of 3.44 and a beta of 1.11. Agilent Technologies, Inc. has a 52-week low of $117.17 and a 52-week high of $155.35.

Agilent Technologies (NYSE:A) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 26th. The medical research company reported $1.31 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.27 by $0.04. Agilent Technologies had a return on equity of 25.56% and a net margin of 19.27%. The firm had revenue of $1.68 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.67 billion. As a group, analysts predict that Agilent Technologies, Inc. will post 5.57 EPS for the current year.

Agilent Technologies Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 23rd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, April 1st will be paid a dividend of $0.248 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 1st. This represents a $0.99 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.81%. Agilent Technologies’s dividend payout ratio is currently 22.76%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Citigroup lifted their price target on Agilent Technologies to $165.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on shares of Agilent Technologies from $165.00 to $160.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, November 26th. Barclays raised shares of Agilent Technologies from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $135.00 to $145.00 in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Robert W. Baird cut their price objective on shares of Agilent Technologies from $161.00 to $159.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 27th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on shares of Agilent Technologies from $157.00 to $155.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, December 9th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $146.15.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Agilent Technologies

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. CKW Financial Group lifted its position in Agilent Technologies by 114.9% during the fourth quarter. CKW Financial Group now owns 187 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. Global X Japan Co. Ltd. increased its position in Agilent Technologies by 161.1% in the fourth quarter. Global X Japan Co. Ltd. now owns 188 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 116 shares in the last quarter. Redwood Park Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Agilent Technologies in the fourth quarter worth about $27,000. Lee Danner & Bass Inc. bought a new position in shares of Agilent Technologies during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Finally, Sunbelt Securities Inc. grew its stake in shares of Agilent Technologies by 640.0% during the 4th quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. now owns 222 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 192 shares during the period.

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.