Kera Capital Partners Inc. Buys Shares of 1,610 Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A)

Kera Capital Partners Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund purchased 1,610 shares of the medical research company’s stock, valued at approximately $216,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of A. Trust Co. of Vermont boosted its position in Agilent Technologies by 5.2% in the fourth quarter. Trust Co. of Vermont now owns 3,015 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $405,000 after buying an additional 150 shares in the last quarter. Premier Path Wealth Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of Agilent Technologies by 4.8% in the 4th quarter. Premier Path Wealth Partners LLC now owns 2,276 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $306,000 after acquiring an additional 105 shares during the last quarter. Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Agilent Technologies during the 4th quarter valued at $46,000. Merit Financial Group LLC grew its position in Agilent Technologies by 102.4% during the 4th quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC now owns 2,781 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $374,000 after acquiring an additional 1,407 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Avanza Fonder AB acquired a new position in Agilent Technologies in the 4th quarter worth about $3,848,000.

Agilent Technologies Stock Performance

Shares of A stock opened at $147.57 on Monday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $136.48 and a 200-day moving average of $137.27. The company has a market cap of $42.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.39, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.71 and a beta of 1.06. The company has a quick ratio of 1.58, a current ratio of 2.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57. Agilent Technologies, Inc. has a 52 week low of $124.16 and a 52 week high of $155.35.

Agilent Technologies (NYSE:A) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, November 25th. The medical research company reported $1.46 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.41 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $1.70 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.67 billion. Agilent Technologies had a net margin of 19.80% and a return on equity of 25.43%. The business’s revenue was up .8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.38 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast that Agilent Technologies, Inc. will post 5.56 earnings per share for the current year.

Agilent Technologies Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed 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. This represents a $0.99 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.67%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 31st. This is a boost from Agilent Technologies’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.24. Agilent Technologies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 22.40%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently weighed in on A shares. Bank of America reduced their price target on Agilent Technologies from $153.00 to $150.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, December 13th. Sanford C. Bernstein decreased their price target on shares of Agilent Technologies from $140.00 to $135.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, November 26th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on shares of Agilent Technologies from $165.00 to $160.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, November 26th. Citigroup increased their price objective on Agilent Technologies to $165.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, December 19th. Finally, StockNews.com raised Agilent Technologies from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 24th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $143.62.

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.