Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A) Shares Sold by Haverford Trust Co

Haverford Trust Co trimmed its position in shares of Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A) by 2.2% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 4,363 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 99 shares during the period. Haverford Trust Co’s holdings in Agilent Technologies were worth $648,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in Agilent Technologies by 18.2% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 29,884,345 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $4,348,471,000 after acquiring an additional 4,605,228 shares during the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its stake in shares of Agilent Technologies by 13.9% in the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 8,542,054 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $1,242,956,000 after purchasing an additional 1,042,926 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its position in shares of Agilent Technologies by 5.7% during the second quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 15,064,660 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $1,952,832,000 after purchasing an additional 809,149 shares during the last quarter. Champlain Investment Partners LLC acquired a new position in Agilent Technologies in the first quarter worth about $61,218,000. Finally, Marshall Wace LLP increased its holdings in Agilent Technologies by 48.6% in the second quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 957,128 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $124,073,000 after buying an additional 313,155 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.42% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A has been the topic of several research reports. Wells Fargo & Company assumed coverage on Agilent Technologies in a research report on Tuesday, August 27th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $157.00 price target on the stock. UBS Group raised their price target on shares of Agilent Technologies from $141.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 22nd. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of Agilent Technologies from $135.00 to $145.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 15th. Stifel Nicolaus reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $151.00 target price on shares of Agilent Technologies in a report on Monday, August 26th. Finally, TD Cowen upped their target price on Agilent Technologies from $153.00 to $160.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 22nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Agilent Technologies has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $144.36.

Insider Activity at Agilent Technologies

In other Agilent Technologies news, CEO Padraig Mcdonnell sold 1,958 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $145.00, for a total value of $283,910.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 24,118 shares in the company, valued at $3,497,110. This represents a 7.51 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Dominique Grau sold 9,990 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $145.00, for a total value of $1,448,550.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 40,011 shares in the company, valued at $5,801,595. This trade represents a 19.98 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 11,995 shares of company stock valued at $1,739,510 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

Agilent Technologies Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:A opened at $130.22 on Friday. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $139.09 and its 200 day moving average price is $138.14. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a current ratio of 1.78 and a quick ratio of 1.37. The stock has a market cap of $37.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.02, a PEG ratio of 5.88 and a beta of 1.07. Agilent Technologies, Inc. has a 12 month low of $111.33 and a 12 month high of $155.35.

Agilent Technologies (NYSE:A) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, August 21st. The medical research company reported $1.32 earnings per share 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 analysts’ expectations of $1.56 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.43 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 5.6% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts anticipate that Agilent Technologies, Inc. will post 5.24 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Agilent Technologies Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, October 23rd. Investors of record on Tuesday, October 1st were issued a $0.236 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, October 1st. This represents a $0.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.72%. Agilent Technologies’s payout ratio is currently 19.50%.

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.