Goodman Advisory Group LLC Sells 17,790 Shares of Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A)

Goodman Advisory Group LLC cut its stake in shares of Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A - Free Report) by 96.3% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 686 shares of the medical research company's stock after selling 17,790 shares during the quarter. Goodman Advisory Group LLC's holdings in Agilent Technologies were worth $81,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in A. Redwood Park Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Agilent Technologies during the 4th quarter worth about $27,000. Lee Danner & Bass Inc. bought a new stake in Agilent Technologies during the fourth quarter worth about $29,000. Sunbelt Securities Inc. increased its holdings in shares of 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 buying an additional 192 shares in the last quarter. Whipplewood Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of 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 buying an additional 186 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wood Tarver Financial Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Agilent Technologies in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $34,000.

Insider Activity at Agilent Technologies

In other news, Director Daniel K. Podolsky sold 1,819 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $116.46, for a total transaction of $211,840.74. Following the sale, the director now owns 35,737 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,161,931.02. This trade represents a 4.84% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink.

Agilent Technologies Stock Performance

A stock opened at $119.20 on Friday. Agilent Technologies, Inc. has a twelve month low of $96.43 and a twelve month 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. The company has a market cap of $33.86 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.43, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.62 and a beta of 1.23. The business's fifty day moving average is $112.19 and its 200-day moving average is $123.80.

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

Agilent Technologies Announces Dividend

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently commented on A. Barclays increased their price target on Agilent Technologies from $115.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 24th. TD Cowen boosted their price objective on Agilent Technologies to $150.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on shares of Agilent Technologies from $160.00 to $155.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, May 29th. UBS Group decreased their price target on shares of Agilent Technologies from $150.00 to $130.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, May 29th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on Agilent Technologies from $155.00 to $135.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $140.92.

Agilent Technologies Company 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.

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