Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A) Director Daniel K. Podolsky Sells 1,819 Shares

Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A) Director Daniel K. Podolsky sold 1,819 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $116.46, for a total transaction of $211,840.74. Following the sale, the director now owns 35,737 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,161,931.02. This represents a 4.84 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink.

Agilent Technologies Stock Up 1.7 %

A opened at $115.96 on Thursday. Agilent Technologies, Inc. has a 1-year low of $112.75 and a 1-year high of $155.35. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $132.16 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $136.18. The company has a current ratio of 2.20, a quick ratio of 1.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56. The company has a market capitalization of $33.06 billion, a PE ratio of 26.66, a PEG ratio of 3.20 and a beta of 1.19.

Agilent Technologies (NYSE:A) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 26th. The medical research company reported $1.31 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.27 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $1.68 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.67 billion. Agilent Technologies had a return on equity of 25.56% and a net margin of 19.27%. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Agilent Technologies, Inc. will post 5.57 EPS for the current year.

Agilent Technologies Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 23rd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, April 1st will be paid a dividend of $0.248 per share. This represents a $0.99 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.86%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 1st. Agilent Technologies’s payout ratio is 22.76%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on A shares. 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 report on Monday, December 9th. Barclays raised Agilent Technologies from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and upped their price target for the company from $135.00 to $145.00 in a report on Monday, February 10th. Bank of America reduced 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. Robert W. Baird lowered their target price on shares of Agilent Technologies from $161.00 to $159.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. Finally, Citigroup lifted their price target on shares of Agilent Technologies to $165.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Agilent Technologies has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $150.83.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Agilent Technologies

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. CKW Financial Group lifted its stake 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 valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. Global X Japan Co. Ltd. lifted its position in shares of Agilent Technologies by 161.1% in the fourth quarter. Global X Japan Co. Ltd. now owns 188 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 116 shares in the last quarter. Redwood Park Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Agilent Technologies in the fourth quarter valued at about $27,000. Lee Danner & Bass Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Agilent Technologies during the fourth quarter worth about $29,000. Finally, Sunbelt Securities Inc. grew its position in shares of Agilent Technologies by 640.0% during the fourth quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. now owns 222 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 192 shares in the last quarter.

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.