Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A) Shares Sold by Madison Asset Management LLC

Madison Asset Management LLC reduced its holdings in shares of Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A - Free Report) by 0.7% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 695,411 shares of the medical research company's stock after selling 4,683 shares during the quarter. Madison Asset Management LLC owned 0.24% of Agilent Technologies worth $81,349,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC raised its holdings in Agilent Technologies by 1.2% in the fourth quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 7,479 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $1,025,000 after acquiring an additional 87 shares in the last quarter. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Agilent Technologies by 3.0% in the first quarter. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC now owns 3,449 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $403,000 after acquiring an additional 102 shares in the last quarter. Western Pacific Wealth Management LP raised its holdings in 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 raised its holdings in 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. Finally, Brighton Jones LLC raised its holdings in 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. 87.42% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts recently issued reports on the stock. UBS Group cut their price target on shares of Agilent Technologies from $150.00 to $130.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, May 29th. TD Cowen upped their price target on shares of Agilent Technologies to $150.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, May 29th. Barclays upped their price target on shares of Agilent Technologies from $115.00 to $125.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Tuesday, June 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price 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. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group dropped their target price on shares of Agilent Technologies from $135.00 to $116.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 21st. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Agilent Technologies presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $139.77.

Agilent Technologies Stock Performance

Shares of Agilent Technologies stock traded down $0.18 during trading on Friday, hitting $120.17. 1,972,723 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,755,995. The stock's fifty day moving average is $116.45 and its 200 day moving average is $121.55. The stock has a market cap of $34.14 billion, a PE ratio of 29.67, a P/E/G ratio of 3.65 and a beta of 1.23. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55, a quick ratio of 1.60 and a current ratio of 2.09. Agilent Technologies, Inc. has a 12 month low of $96.43 and a 12 month high of $153.84.

Agilent Technologies (NYSE:A - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 28th. The medical research company reported $1.31 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.26 by $0.05. The business 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%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 6.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.22 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Agilent Technologies, Inc. will post 5.58 EPS for the current year.

Agilent Technologies Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 23rd. Investors of record on Tuesday, July 1st were given a $0.248 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, July 1st. This represents a $0.99 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.83%. Agilent Technologies's dividend payout ratio is presently 24.44%.

Insider Transactions at Agilent Technologies

In related news, CEO Padraig Mcdonnell sold 1,508 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $117.44, for a total value of $177,099.52. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 37,448 shares in the company, valued at $4,397,893.12. This represents a 3.87% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.26% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.