Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A) Shares Acquired by CENTRAL TRUST Co

CENTRAL TRUST Co boosted its position in shares of Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A) by 35.5% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,506 shares of the medical research company’s stock after buying an additional 657 shares during the period. CENTRAL TRUST Co’s holdings in Agilent Technologies were worth $337,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Greenleaf Trust increased its position in Agilent Technologies by 3.0% during the fourth quarter. Greenleaf Trust now owns 8,036 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $1,080,000 after buying an additional 231 shares during the period. SYM FINANCIAL Corp acquired a new position in Agilent Technologies during the fourth quarter worth approximately $687,000. Deroy & Devereaux Private Investment Counsel Inc. increased its position in Agilent Technologies by 0.9% during the fourth quarter. Deroy & Devereaux Private Investment Counsel Inc. now owns 139,281 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $18,711,000 after buying an additional 1,212 shares during the period. Caprock Group LLC increased its holdings in shares of Agilent Technologies by 25.7% in the fourth quarter. Caprock Group LLC now owns 9,698 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $1,305,000 after purchasing an additional 1,982 shares during the period. Finally, Sivik Global Healthcare LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Agilent Technologies during the fourth quarter worth approximately $4,702,000.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently commented on A. Sanford C. Bernstein cut their price target on Agilent Technologies from $140.00 to $135.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, November 26th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on Agilent Technologies from $157.00 to $155.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, December 9th. Bank of America cut their price target on Agilent Technologies from $153.00 to $150.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Barclays cut their price target on Agilent Technologies from $145.00 to $135.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, November 27th. Finally, StockNews.com raised Agilent Technologies from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 24th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $143.62.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Padraig Mcdonnell sold 1,911 shares of Agilent Technologies stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $150.00, for a total value of $286,650.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 39,652 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,947,800. This trade represents a 4.60 % 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 the SEC website.

Agilent Technologies Stock Performance

Shares of A opened at $147.06 on Wednesday. Agilent Technologies, Inc. has a 1 year low of $124.16 and a 1 year high of $155.35. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $140.80 and its 200 day simple moving average is $138.96. The company has a market capitalization of $42.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.27, a PEG ratio of 4.10 and a beta of 1.07. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57, a quick ratio of 1.58 and a current ratio of 2.09.

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

Agilent Technologies Increases Dividend

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