Prentiss Smith & Co. Inc. Cuts Stock Position in Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A)

Prentiss Smith & Co. Inc. decreased its holdings in Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A) by 2.8% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 15,611 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 443 shares during the period. Agilent Technologies comprises approximately 1.4% of Prentiss Smith & Co. Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 26th largest position. Prentiss Smith & Co. Inc.’s holdings in Agilent Technologies were worth $2,097,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Livelsberger Financial Advisory acquired a new stake in shares of Agilent Technologies in the 3rd quarter valued at $28,000. CKW Financial Group boosted its position in shares of Agilent Technologies by 114.9% during the 4th quarter. CKW Financial Group now owns 187 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC purchased a new position in shares of Agilent Technologies in the 3rd quarter valued at about $31,000. Fortitude Family Office LLC raised its position in shares of Agilent Technologies by 68.3% during the 3rd quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 234 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $35,000 after acquiring an additional 95 shares in the last quarter. Finally, RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC purchased a new stake in Agilent Technologies during the third quarter worth approximately $38,000.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Agilent Technologies news, CEO Padraig Mcdonnell sold 1,911 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $150.00, for a total transaction of $286,650.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 39,652 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,947,800. This trade represents a 4.60 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have weighed in on A shares. Barclays cut their price objective on shares of Agilent Technologies from $145.00 to $135.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, November 27th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on shares of Agilent Technologies from $157.00 to $155.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, December 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on Agilent Technologies from $165.00 to $160.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, November 26th. Evercore ISI raised their price target on Agilent Technologies from $135.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 1st. Finally, Bank of America decreased their price objective on Agilent Technologies from $153.00 to $150.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday, December 13th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $143.62.

Agilent Technologies Price Performance

A stock traded down $1.87 on Wednesday, reaching $148.48. 217,896 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,685,512. 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 twelve month low of $124.16 and a twelve month high of $155.35. The firm has a market cap of $42.40 billion, a PE ratio of 33.64, a P/E/G ratio of 4.12 and a beta of 1.06. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $139.40 and a 200-day moving average of $138.50.

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

Agilent Technologies Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 22nd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st were paid a dividend of $0.248 per share. This represents a $0.99 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.67%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, December 31st. This is an increase from Agilent Technologies’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.24. Agilent Technologies’s payout ratio is 22.40%.

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.