Financiere des Professionnels Fonds d investissement inc. Trims Stock Holdings in Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A)

Financiere des Professionnels Fonds d investissement inc. decreased its position in Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A - Free Report) by 3.0% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 83,955 shares of the medical research company's stock after selling 2,638 shares during the period. Financiere des Professionnels Fonds d investissement inc.'s holdings in Agilent Technologies were worth $9,821,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in A. Redwood Park Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Agilent Technologies in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Lee Danner & Bass Inc. acquired a new position in Agilent Technologies in the 4th quarter valued at $29,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Agilent Technologies by 286.2% during the 1st quarter. Whipplewood Advisors LLC now owns 251 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 186 shares in the last quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Agilent Technologies by 640.0% during the 4th quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. now owns 222 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 192 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Opal Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Agilent Technologies during the first quarter worth about $31,000.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently commented on A shares. Jefferies Financial Group cut their target price on Agilent Technologies from $135.00 to $116.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 21st. Wall Street Zen raised Agilent Technologies from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Saturday, June 28th. Wells Fargo & Company cut 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 raised their price target on Agilent Technologies from $115.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Tuesday, June 24th. Finally, Evercore ISI lifted their price objective on Agilent Technologies from $125.00 to $130.00 and gave the company an "in-line" rating in a research note on Tuesday. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $139.77.

Agilent Technologies Trading Up 1.6%

A traded up $1.85 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $121.10. The company had a trading volume of 1,917,044 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,844,274. The stock has a market cap of $34.40 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.90, a PEG ratio of 3.62 and a beta of 1.23. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $114.04 and a 200-day simple moving average of $123.03. 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 announced its earnings results on Wednesday, May 28th. The medical research company reported $1.31 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 business had revenue of $1.67 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.63 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.22 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was up 6.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Agilent Technologies, Inc. will post 5.58 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Agilent Technologies Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced 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 0.82%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, July 1st. Agilent Technologies's payout ratio is 24.44%.

Insider Transactions at Agilent Technologies

In other Agilent Technologies news, CEO Padraig Mcdonnell sold 1,508 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 1st. The stock was 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 of the company's stock, valued at $4,397,893.12. This trade represents a 3.87% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link.

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.