Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A) Shares Sold by Miracle Mile Advisors LLC

Miracle Mile Advisors LLC lessened its position in Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A) by 7.3% during the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 2,499 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 197 shares during the quarter. Miracle Mile Advisors LLC’s holdings in Agilent Technologies were worth $292,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Redwood Park Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Agilent Technologies in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Lee Danner & Bass Inc. purchased a new stake in Agilent Technologies in the 4th quarter valued at $29,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Agilent Technologies by 286.2% in the 1st quarter. Whipplewood Advisors LLC now owns 251 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 186 shares during the last quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. raised its holdings 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 worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 192 shares during the period. Finally, Wood Tarver Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Agilent Technologies during the 4th quarter valued at about $34,000.

Insider Buying and Selling at Agilent Technologies

In other news, Director Daniel K. Podolsky sold 1,819 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $116.46, for a total value of $211,840.74. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 35,737 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,161,931.02. This trade represents a 4.84% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, VP Rodney Gonsalves sold 1,908 shares of Agilent Technologies stock in a transaction on Monday, March 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $121.98, for a total transaction of $232,737.84. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 21,786 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,657,456.28. This trade represents a 8.05% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here.

Agilent Technologies Trading Down 0.6%

Shares of NYSE A opened at $119.80 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 2.09, a quick ratio of 1.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55. The stock has a market capitalization of $34.03 billion, a PE ratio of 29.58, a PEG ratio of 3.54 and a beta of 1.23. Agilent Technologies, Inc. has a twelve month low of $96.43 and a twelve month high of $153.84. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $108.67 and a 200-day simple moving average of $125.69.

Agilent Technologies (NYSE:A) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, May 28th. The medical research company reported $1.31 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.26 by $0.05. Agilent Technologies had a return on equity of 25.92% and a net margin of 17.59%. The company had revenue of $1.67 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.63 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.22 EPS. Agilent Technologies’s revenue was up 6.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts forecast that Agilent Technologies, Inc. will post 5.58 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, July 23rd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, July 1st will be issued a dividend of $0.248 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, July 1st. This represents a $0.99 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.83%. Agilent Technologies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 24.44%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on A shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on shares of Agilent Technologies from $160.00 to $155.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, May 29th. Barclays cut their price target on shares of Agilent Technologies from $138.00 to $115.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 10th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on Agilent Technologies from $155.00 to $135.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 17th. Leerink Partners raised their target price on Agilent Technologies to $135.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, May 30th. Finally, UBS Group decreased their price target on Agilent Technologies from $150.00 to $130.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, May 29th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $140.15.

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.