Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A) CEO Padraig Mcdonnell Sells 1,508 Shares

Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A - Get Free Report) CEO Padraig Mcdonnell sold 1,508 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $117.44, for a total value of $177,099.52. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 37,448 shares in the company, valued at $4,397,893.12. This trade represents a 3.87% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink.

Agilent Technologies Stock Performance

NYSE:A traded up $0.50 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $121.16. 944,958 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,844,497. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $113.79 and a 200-day simple moving average of $123.27. Agilent Technologies, Inc. has a 52 week low of $96.43 and a 52 week high of $153.84. The stock has a market capitalization of $34.42 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.91, a P/E/G ratio of 3.68 and a beta of 1.23. The company has a quick ratio of 1.60, a current ratio of 2.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55.

Agilent Technologies (NYSE:A - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 28th. The medical research company reported $1.31 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.26 by $0.05. Agilent Technologies had a net margin of 17.59% and a return on equity of 25.92%. The company had revenue of $1.67 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.63 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.22 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 6.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Agilent Technologies, Inc. will post 5.58 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Agilent Technologies Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 23rd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, July 1st will be given a dividend of $0.248 per share. This represents a $0.99 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.82%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, July 1st. Agilent Technologies's payout ratio is 24.44%.

Institutional Trading of Agilent Technologies

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Central Pacific Bank Trust Division acquired a new stake in Agilent Technologies in the second quarter worth $33,000. AG2R LA Mondiale Gestion D Actifs acquired a new stake in shares of Agilent Technologies in the 1st quarter worth about $1,376,000. Swedbank AB lifted its position in Agilent Technologies by 0.8% in the 1st quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 147,426 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $17,246,000 after purchasing an additional 1,198 shares during the last quarter. eCIO Inc. acquired a new position in Agilent Technologies during the 1st quarter valued at about $129,000. Finally, Modern Wealth Management LLC grew its position in Agilent Technologies by 36.2% in the 1st quarter. Modern Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,732 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $320,000 after purchasing an additional 726 shares during the last quarter.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on Agilent Technologies from $155.00 to $135.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 17th. Barclays upped their target price on shares of Agilent Technologies from $115.00 to $125.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on shares of Agilent Technologies from $160.00 to $155.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, May 29th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Agilent Technologies from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Saturday, June 28th. Finally, UBS Group lowered their target price on Agilent Technologies from $150.00 to $130.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 29th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $140.92.

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.