Kovack Advisors Inc. Takes $270,000 Position in Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A)

Kovack Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A) during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 1,819 shares of the medical research company’s stock, valued at approximately $270,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Agilent Technologies by 7.2% during the 1st quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. now owns 2,902 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $422,000 after buying an additional 194 shares during the period. Blair William & Co. IL grew its stake in Agilent Technologies by 13.1% in the first quarter. Blair William & Co. IL now owns 19,575 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $2,848,000 after purchasing an additional 2,271 shares in the last quarter. Pinnacle Wealth Planning Services Inc. acquired a new position in Agilent Technologies in the 1st quarter worth about $204,000. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of 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 worth $4,348,471,000 after purchasing an additional 4,605,228 shares in the last quarter. Finally, TIAA Trust National Association lifted its holdings in shares of Agilent Technologies by 3.6% during the 1st quarter. TIAA Trust National Association now owns 3,505 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $510,000 after buying an additional 121 shares during the last quarter.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A has been the topic of a number of research reports. Evercore ISI increased their price objective on Agilent Technologies from $135.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 1st. Barclays raised their price target on shares of Agilent Technologies from $135.00 to $145.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 15th. Bank of America upped their price objective on shares of Agilent Technologies from $140.00 to $147.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, August 22nd. Stifel Nicolaus restated a “buy” rating and set a $151.00 target price on shares of Agilent Technologies in a report on Monday, August 26th. Finally, UBS Group upped their price target on Agilent Technologies from $141.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 22nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $144.36.

Insider Buying and Selling at Agilent Technologies

In other Agilent Technologies news, CEO Padraig Mcdonnell sold 1,958 shares of Agilent Technologies stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $145.00, for a total transaction of $283,910.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 24,118 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,497,110. This trade represents a 7.51 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, SVP Dominique Grau sold 9,990 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $145.00, for a total transaction of $1,448,550.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 40,011 shares in the company, valued at $5,801,595. This represents a 19.98 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 11,995 shares of company stock valued at $1,739,510 in the last 90 days.

Agilent Technologies Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE A opened at $127.07 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $36.51 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.36, a P/E/G ratio of 5.91 and a beta of 1.07. Agilent Technologies, Inc. has a 12 month low of $112.06 and a 12 month high of $155.35. The business’s 50 day moving average is $138.93 and its two-hundred day moving average is $138.08. The company has a quick ratio of 1.37, a current ratio of 1.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36.

Agilent Technologies (NYSE:A) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 21st. The medical research company reported $1.32 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.26 by $0.06. Agilent Technologies had a net margin of 21.75% and a return on equity of 25.26%. The business had revenue of $1.58 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.56 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.43 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 5.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts expect that Agilent Technologies, Inc. will post 5.24 EPS for the current year.

Agilent Technologies Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, October 23rd. Investors of record on Tuesday, October 1st were given a $0.236 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, October 1st. This represents a $0.94 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.74%. Agilent Technologies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 19.50%.

About Agilent Technologies

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.