AXS Investments LLC Trims Stock Position in Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A)

AXS Investments LLC decreased its stake in Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A) by 11.5% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 845 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 110 shares during the period. AXS Investments LLC’s holdings in Agilent Technologies were worth $117,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its position in Agilent Technologies by 19.6% during the fourth quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 13,246,489 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $1,841,659,000 after buying an additional 2,170,219 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its holdings in shares of Agilent Technologies by 17.4% in the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 10,255,526 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $1,146,773,000 after acquiring an additional 1,519,134 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp increased its holdings in shares of Agilent Technologies by 6.6% in the 3rd quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 4,097,313 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $458,162,000 after acquiring an additional 254,998 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Agilent Technologies in the 4th quarter valued at $509,904,000. Finally, Van ECK Associates Corp boosted its stake in Agilent Technologies by 5.9% during the 4th quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 2,749,857 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $382,313,000 after purchasing an additional 153,630 shares during the period.

Agilent Technologies Trading Up 0.1 %

NYSE A traded up $0.11 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $150.66. 784,333 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,280,669. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $144.06 and its 200 day simple moving average is $136.19. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41, a quick ratio of 2.04 and a current ratio of 2.68. The stock has a market capitalization of $44.15 billion, a PE ratio of 35.87, a PEG ratio of 4.04 and a beta of 1.13. Agilent Technologies, Inc. has a 1-year low of $96.80 and a 1-year high of $155.35.

Agilent Technologies (NYSE:A) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, February 27th. The medical research company reported $1.29 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.22 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $1.66 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.59 billion. Agilent Technologies had a return on equity of 27.09% and a net margin of 18.35%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 5.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.37 earnings per share. On average, research analysts anticipate that Agilent Technologies, Inc. will post 5.5 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Agilent Technologies Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 24th. Investors of record on Tuesday, July 2nd will be issued a dividend of $0.236 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, July 2nd. This represents a $0.94 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.63%. Agilent Technologies’s payout ratio is currently 22.38%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP Philip Binns sold 2,827 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $147.54, for a total transaction of $417,095.58. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 9,997 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,474,957.38. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other Agilent Technologies news, Director Heidi Fields sold 1,658 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $144.34, for a total transaction of $239,315.72. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 54,976 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,935,235.84. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, SVP Philip Binns sold 2,827 shares of Agilent Technologies stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $147.54, for a total transaction of $417,095.58. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 9,997 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,474,957.38. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 61,610 shares of company stock valued at $9,220,333.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have commented on A. Stifel Nicolaus upgraded shares of Agilent Technologies from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $145.00 to $163.00 in a research note on Friday, April 5th. Oppenheimer boosted their price target on Agilent Technologies from $67.00 to $90.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 26th. Evercore ISI increased their price objective on Agilent Technologies from $132.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 4th. Barclays lifted their target price on Agilent Technologies from $125.00 to $135.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. Finally, Citigroup upped their price target on Agilent Technologies from $130.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 28th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $141.06.

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.