Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund Sells 8,098 Shares of Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A)

Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund lessened its stake in shares of Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A) by 11.5% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 62,469 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 8,098 shares during the period. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund’s holdings in Agilent Technologies were worth $8,392,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of A. CKW Financial Group grew its holdings in Agilent Technologies by 114.9% during the fourth quarter. CKW Financial Group now owns 187 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the period. Global X Japan Co. Ltd. grew its holdings in Agilent Technologies by 161.1% during the fourth quarter. Global X Japan Co. Ltd. now owns 188 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 116 shares during the period. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC bought a new stake in Agilent Technologies during the third quarter valued at about $31,000. Fortitude Family Office LLC grew its holdings in Agilent Technologies by 68.3% during the third quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 234 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 95 shares during the period. Finally, Hanson & Doremus Investment Management grew its holdings in Agilent Technologies by 66.5% during the fourth quarter. Hanson & Doremus Investment Management now owns 263 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 105 shares during the period.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have issued reports on A shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on Agilent Technologies from $165.00 to $160.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, November 26th. Bank of America lowered their price objective on Agilent Technologies from $153.00 to $150.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Barclays upgraded Agilent Technologies from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $135.00 to $145.00 in a research report on Monday, February 10th. StockNews.com upgraded Agilent Technologies from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 24th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on Agilent Technologies from $157.00 to $155.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, December 9th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $144.38.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Padraig Mcdonnell sold 1,911 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 39,652 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,947,800. This represents a 4.60 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link.

Agilent Technologies Price Performance

NYSE:A opened at $134.05 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 2.09, a quick ratio of 1.58 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57. The company has a market capitalization of $38.24 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.33, a P/E/G ratio of 3.66 and a beta of 1.07. Agilent Technologies, Inc. has a 12 month low of $124.16 and a 12 month high of $155.35. The business’s 50-day moving average is $140.87 and its 200 day moving average is $139.31.

Agilent Technologies (NYSE:A) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, November 25th. The medical research company reported $1.46 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.41 by $0.05. Agilent Technologies had a return on equity of 25.43% and a net margin of 19.80%. The company had revenue of $1.70 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.67 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.38 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up .8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Agilent Technologies, Inc. will post 5.56 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Agilent Technologies Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed 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. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 1st. This represents a $0.99 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.74%. Agilent Technologies’s payout ratio is currently 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.