Cary Street Partners Investment Advisory LLC Reduces Stock Position in Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A)

Cary Street Partners Investment Advisory LLC decreased its stake in shares of Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A) by 7.1% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 3,928 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 298 shares during the quarter. Cary Street Partners Investment Advisory LLC’s holdings in Agilent Technologies were worth $472,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Money Concepts Capital Corp acquired a new position in Agilent Technologies in the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. Clearstead Trust LLC acquired a new position in Agilent Technologies in the second quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Glass Jacobson Investment Advisors llc purchased a new position in Agilent Technologies in the second quarter worth approximately $32,000. Bogart Wealth LLC increased its stake in Agilent Technologies by 80.7% during the second quarter. Bogart Wealth LLC now owns 271 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 121 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ancora Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Agilent Technologies in the fourth quarter valued at $34,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 85.42% of the company’s stock.

Agilent Technologies Stock Up 0.7 %

Shares of NYSE:A opened at $113.98 on Tuesday. Agilent Technologies, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $96.80 and a fifty-two week high of $160.26. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $109.98 and its 200 day moving average price is $117.66. The company has a quick ratio of 1.68, a current ratio of 2.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49. The stock has a market cap of $33.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.84, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.01 and a beta of 1.04.

Agilent Technologies (NYSE:A) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, November 20th. The medical research company reported $1.38 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.34 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $1.69 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.67 billion. Agilent Technologies had a net margin of 16.20% and a return on equity of 29.86%. The company’s revenue was down 8.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.53 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Agilent Technologies, Inc. will post 5.41 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Agilent Technologies Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 24th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, January 2nd will be issued a dividend of $0.236 per share. This represents a $0.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.83%. This is an increase from Agilent Technologies’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.23. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 29th. Agilent Technologies’s payout ratio is 24.61%.

Insider Transactions at Agilent Technologies

In other Agilent Technologies news, VP Rodney Gonsalves sold 3,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $118.78, for a total transaction of $415,730.00. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 24,219 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,876,732.82. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.31% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Credit Suisse Group cut their price objective on Agilent Technologies from $160.00 to $150.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, August 16th. Sanford C. Bernstein initiated coverage on shares of Agilent Technologies in a research note on Thursday, September 28th. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $123.00 price target on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on shares of Agilent Technologies from $155.00 to $150.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, August 16th. Evercore ISI dropped their target price on shares of Agilent Technologies from $124.00 to $120.00 and set an “in-line” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, August 16th. Finally, Robert W. Baird decreased their price target on Agilent Technologies from $144.00 to $140.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, August 16th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $143.94.

About Agilent Technologies

Agilent Technologies, Inc provides application focused solutions to the life sciences, diagnostics, and applied chemical markets worldwide. 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; vacuum pumps, and measurement technologies.