LGT Capital Partners LTD. Buys 54,302 Shares of Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A)

Key Points

• LGT Capital Partners LTD. increased its stake in Agilent Technologies by 7.6%, acquiring an additional 54,302 shares, making it the company's 8th largest holding.
• Agilent Technologies reported better-than-expected earnings with $1.31 earnings per share, surpassing the consensus estimate by $0.05, and had a 6% revenue increase from the previous year.
• The company's quarterly dividend of $0.248 reflects an annualized yield of 0.9% and a dividend payout ratio of 24.44%.

LGT Capital Partners LTD. lifted its stake in Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A - Free Report) by 7.6% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 768,252 shares of the medical research company's stock after buying an additional 54,302 shares during the period. Agilent Technologies makes up approximately 4.0% of LGT Capital Partners LTD.'s holdings, making the stock its 8th largest holding. LGT Capital Partners LTD. owned about 0.27% of Agilent Technologies worth $89,870,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC grew its position in Agilent Technologies by 3.0% during the 1st quarter. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC now owns 3,449 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $403,000 after purchasing an additional 102 shares during the last quarter. Western Pacific Wealth Management LP boosted its holdings in shares of Agilent Technologies by 15.2% in the first quarter. Western Pacific Wealth Management LP now owns 873 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $102,000 after acquiring an additional 115 shares in the last quarter. Bartlett & CO. Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Agilent Technologies by 5.1% in the first quarter. Bartlett & CO. Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,406 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $281,000 after acquiring an additional 116 shares in the last quarter. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Agilent Technologies by 2.6% in the first quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 4,784 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $560,000 after acquiring an additional 121 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. boosted its holdings in shares of Agilent Technologies by 0.3% in the first quarter. Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. now owns 41,334 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $4,835,000 after acquiring an additional 124 shares in the last quarter.

Agilent Technologies Stock Down 0.2%

NYSE A traded down $0.21 on Tuesday, reaching $114.63. The company had a trading volume of 175,322 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,013,208. The stock has a market capitalization of $32.56 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.30, a P/E/G ratio of 3.44 and a beta of 1.22. The company's fifty day moving average is $117.21 and its 200 day moving average is $120.24. Agilent Technologies, Inc. has a 52-week low of $96.43 and a 52-week high of $153.84. 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 issued its quarterly 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 firm had revenue of $1.67 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.63 billion. Agilent Technologies had a return on equity of 25.92% and a net margin of 17.59%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 6.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.22 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate 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 was paid on Wednesday, July 23rd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, July 1st were issued a $0.248 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, July 1st. This represents a $0.99 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.9%. Agilent Technologies's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 24.44%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on A shares. TD Cowen lifted their target price on shares of Agilent Technologies to $150.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 29th. Leerink Partners boosted their target price on shares of Agilent Technologies to $135.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, May 30th. UBS Group reduced their target price on shares of Agilent Technologies from $150.00 to $130.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, May 29th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Agilent Technologies from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Saturday, June 28th. Finally, Evercore ISI increased their target price on shares of Agilent Technologies from $125.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock an "in-line" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 8th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently 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 stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $117.44, for a total transaction of $177,099.52. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 37,448 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,397,893.12. This represents a 3.87% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink.

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.