Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A) Stock Holdings Increased by Empirical Finance LLC

Empirical Finance LLC lifted its holdings in Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A) by 2.0% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 10,231 shares of the medical research company’s stock after purchasing an additional 196 shares during the quarter. Empirical Finance LLC’s holdings in Agilent Technologies were worth $1,519,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. increased its stake in shares of Agilent Technologies by 7.2% during the first quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. now owns 2,902 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $422,000 after acquiring an additional 194 shares during the period. Blair William & Co. IL increased its position in shares of Agilent Technologies by 13.1% during the 1st 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 during the period. Pinnacle Wealth Planning Services Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Agilent Technologies in the 1st quarter worth $204,000. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Agilent Technologies by 18.2% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 29,884,345 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $4,348,471,000 after buying an additional 4,605,228 shares during the period. Finally, TIAA Trust National Association boosted its stake in Agilent Technologies by 3.6% during the first 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 in the last quarter.

Agilent Technologies Price Performance

Shares of A opened at $127.07 on Friday. The business’s 50-day moving average is $138.73 and its 200-day moving average is $138.00. 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 company has a market capitalization of $36.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.36, a P/E/G ratio of 5.91 and a beta of 1.07. Agilent Technologies, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $112.06 and a fifty-two week high of $155.35.

Agilent Technologies (NYSE:A) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, August 21st. The medical research company reported $1.32 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 company had revenue of $1.58 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.56 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.43 EPS. The company’s revenue was down 5.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts expect that Agilent Technologies, Inc. will post 5.24 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Agilent Technologies Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Activity

In other Agilent Technologies news, SVP Dominique Grau sold 9,990 shares of the 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 transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 40,011 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,801,595. This represents a 19.98 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Padraig Mcdonnell sold 1,958 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $145.00, for a total value of $283,910.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 24,118 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,497,110. This trade represents a 7.51 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 11,995 shares of company stock worth $1,739,510 in the last three months.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A has been the topic of several research reports. Citigroup boosted their price target on shares of Agilent Technologies from $150.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 22nd. TD Cowen increased their target price on shares of Agilent Technologies from $153.00 to $160.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 22nd. Stifel Nicolaus restated a “buy” rating and issued a $151.00 price target on shares of Agilent Technologies in a research report on Monday, August 26th. Bank of America increased their price objective on Agilent Technologies from $140.00 to $147.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 22nd. Finally, Evercore ISI lifted their target price on Agilent Technologies from $135.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 1st. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $144.36.

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.