Eastern Bank Sells 46,806 Shares of Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A)

Key Points

• Eastern Bank has reduced its stake in Agilent Technologies by 43.8%, now holding approximately 59,952 shares valued at about $7 million.
• CEO Padraig Mcdonnell sold 1,508 shares of Agilent Technologies at an average price of $117.44, resulting in a 3.87% decrease in his ownership.
• Agilent Technologies recently reported earnings of $1.31 per share, beating expectations and showing 6% revenue growth compared to the previous year.

Eastern Bank trimmed its position in Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A - Free Report) by 43.8% in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 59,952 shares of the medical research company's stock after selling 46,806 shares during the period. Eastern Bank's holdings in Agilent Technologies were worth $7,013,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in A. Redwood Park Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Agilent Technologies during the 4th quarter valued at $27,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Agilent Technologies by 286.2% in the first quarter. Whipplewood Advisors LLC now owns 251 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 186 shares in the last quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Agilent Technologies by 640.0% in the fourth quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. now owns 222 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 192 shares in the last quarter. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Agilent Technologies in the first quarter valued at $31,000. Finally, Wood Tarver Financial Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Agilent Technologies in the fourth quarter valued at $34,000.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have commented on A shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on shares of Agilent Technologies from $160.00 to $155.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, May 29th. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their target price on shares of Agilent Technologies from $135.00 to $116.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 21st. Robert W. Baird lowered their price target on Agilent Technologies from $159.00 to $140.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, May 22nd. Wall Street Zen raised Agilent Technologies from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Saturday, June 28th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on Agilent Technologies from $155.00 to $135.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $139.77.

Insider Activity

In other Agilent Technologies news, CEO Padraig Mcdonnell sold 1,508 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $117.44, for a total value of $177,099.52. Following the sale, the chief executive officer 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 sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link.

Agilent Technologies Stock Down 1.1%

NYSE:A traded down $1.30 on Friday, hitting $113.51. 1,888,639 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,780,879. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $116.98 and a 200-day moving average price of $120.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55, a current ratio of 2.09 and a quick ratio of 1.60. Agilent Technologies, Inc. has a 52 week low of $96.43 and a 52 week high of $153.84. The company has a market cap of $32.24 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.03, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.48 and a beta of 1.22.

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

Agilent Technologies Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 23rd. Investors of record on Tuesday, July 1st were given a dividend of $0.248 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, July 1st. This represents a $0.99 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.9%. Agilent Technologies's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 24.44%.

Agilent Technologies 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.