Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A) Shares Sold by Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc.

Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. decreased its position in Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A) by 1.1% in the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 1,662,430 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 18,360 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc.’s holdings in Agilent Technologies were worth $246,838,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also bought and sold shares of A. Smithfield Trust Co boosted its holdings in Agilent Technologies by 65.2% during the third quarter. Smithfield Trust Co now owns 1,931 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $285,000 after buying an additional 762 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its position in shares of Agilent Technologies by 3.5% during the 3rd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 15,589,874 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $2,314,784,000 after acquiring an additional 525,214 shares during the last quarter. Landscape Capital Management L.L.C. bought a new stake in shares of Agilent Technologies during the 3rd quarter worth $324,000. Intech Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Agilent Technologies in the 3rd quarter worth $205,000. Finally, Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI acquired a new stake in shares of Agilent Technologies during the third quarter worth $216,000.

Agilent Technologies Price Performance

A opened at $133.84 on Friday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $137.90 and a 200 day moving average price of $137.67. The company has a current ratio of 1.78, a quick ratio of 1.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36. Agilent Technologies, Inc. has a 1 year low of $123.48 and a 1 year high of $155.35. The stock has a market cap of $38.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.77, a PEG ratio of 5.53 and a beta of 1.07.

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

Agilent Technologies Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 22nd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st will be paid a $0.248 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, December 31st. This is a boost from Agilent Technologies’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.24. This represents a $0.99 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.74%. Agilent Technologies’s payout ratio is 19.50%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Agilent Technologies news, SVP Dominique Grau sold 9,990 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $145.00, for a total value of $1,448,550.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 40,011 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,801,595. The trade was a 19.98 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms recently weighed in on A. Citigroup increased their price target on Agilent Technologies from $150.00 to $165.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 22nd. TD Cowen lifted their target price on shares of Agilent Technologies from $153.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 22nd. Barclays boosted their price target on shares of Agilent Technologies from $135.00 to $145.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 15th. Evercore ISI lifted their price objective on shares of Agilent Technologies from $135.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 1st. Finally, UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of Agilent Technologies from $141.00 to $150.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 22nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $144.36.

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.