Fiduciary Financial Group LLC Takes $318,000 Position in Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A)

Fiduciary Financial Group LLC purchased a new stake in Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 2,717 shares of the medical research company's stock, valued at approximately $318,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Redwood Park Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Agilent Technologies during the 4th quarter worth approximately $27,000. Lee Danner & Bass Inc. acquired a new stake in Agilent Technologies during the 4th quarter valued at $29,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC boosted its position in Agilent Technologies by 286.2% during the first quarter. Whipplewood Advisors LLC now owns 251 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 186 shares during the period. Sunbelt Securities Inc. boosted its position in 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 during the period. Finally, Wood Tarver Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Agilent Technologies in the fourth quarter valued at $34,000.

Agilent Technologies Stock Performance

Shares of Agilent Technologies stock traded down $0.62 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $119.10. The company had a trading volume of 390,459 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,918,672. The firm has a market cap of $33.83 billion, a PE ratio of 29.41, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.66 and a beta of 1.23. Agilent Technologies, Inc. has a one year low of $96.43 and a one year high of $153.84. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55, a current ratio of 2.09 and a quick ratio of 1.60. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $108.67 and a 200 day simple moving average of $125.69.

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

Agilent Technologies Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 23rd. Investors of record on Tuesday, July 1st will be paid a dividend of $0.248 per share. This represents a $0.99 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.83%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, July 1st. Agilent Technologies's dividend payout ratio is 24.44%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Daniel K. Podolsky sold 1,819 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $116.46, for a total value of $211,840.74. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 35,737 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,161,931.02. This represents a 4.84% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, VP Rodney Gonsalves sold 1,908 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $121.98, for a total value of $232,737.84. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 21,786 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,657,456.28. The trade was a 8.05% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A has been the subject of a number of research reports. UBS Group cut their target price on shares of Agilent Technologies from $150.00 to $130.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 29th. TD Cowen upped their target price on Agilent Technologies to $150.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 29th. Robert W. Baird dropped their price target on Agilent Technologies from $159.00 to $140.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, May 22nd. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their target price on Agilent Technologies from $135.00 to $116.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 21st. Finally, Barclays decreased their price target on shares of Agilent Technologies from $138.00 to $115.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 10th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $140.15.

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.