Sanctuary Advisors LLC Increases Position in Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A)

Sanctuary Advisors LLC raised its position in Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A) by 5.5% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 15,927 shares of the medical research company’s stock after purchasing an additional 837 shares during the quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC’s holdings in Agilent Technologies were worth $2,140,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. grew its stake in shares of Agilent Technologies by 13.5% in 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 in the last quarter. Rovin Capital UT ADV grew its stake in shares of Agilent Technologies by 1.6% in the third quarter. Rovin Capital UT ADV now owns 5,049 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $750,000 after acquiring an additional 81 shares in the last quarter. Integrated Advisors Network LLC grew its stake in shares of Agilent Technologies by 2.5% in the third quarter. Integrated Advisors Network LLC now owns 3,582 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $532,000 after acquiring an additional 86 shares in the last quarter. Ascent Group LLC grew its stake in shares of Agilent Technologies by 4.1% in the third quarter. Ascent Group LLC now owns 2,209 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $328,000 after acquiring an additional 87 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Lake Street Advisors Group LLC grew its stake in shares of Agilent Technologies by 2.9% in the third quarter. Lake Street Advisors Group LLC now owns 3,295 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $489,000 after acquiring an additional 94 shares in the last quarter.

Agilent Technologies Stock Performance

Shares of A stock opened at $135.33 on Monday. Agilent Technologies, Inc. has a 1 year low of $124.16 and a 1 year high of $155.35. The firm has a market cap of $38.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.62, a PEG ratio of 3.67 and a beta of 1.07. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $140.97 and its two-hundred day moving average is $139.34. 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 announced its earnings results on Monday, November 25th. The medical research company reported $1.46 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.41 by $0.05. Agilent Technologies had a net margin of 19.80% and a return on equity of 25.43%. The business had revenue of $1.70 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.67 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.38 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up .8% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts predict that Agilent Technologies, Inc. will post 5.56 earnings per share for the current year.

Agilent Technologies Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 23rd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, April 1st will be paid a dividend of $0.248 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 1st. This represents a $0.99 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.73%. Agilent Technologies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 22.40%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently commented on A shares. Bank of America lowered their target price on shares of Agilent Technologies from $153.00 to $150.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Citigroup increased their target price on Agilent Technologies to $165.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, December 19th. Sanford C. Bernstein dropped their target price on Agilent Technologies from $140.00 to $135.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, November 26th. Barclays raised Agilent Technologies from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and increased their target price for the company from $135.00 to $145.00 in a report on Monday, February 10th. Finally, StockNews.com raised Agilent Technologies from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 24th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Agilent Technologies currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $144.38.

Insider Transactions at Agilent Technologies

In related news, CEO Padraig Mcdonnell sold 1,911 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $150.00, for a total value of $286,650.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 39,652 shares in the company, valued at $5,947,800. This trade represents a 4.60 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link.

Agilent Technologies 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.