Saturna Capital Corp Sells 157,392 Shares of Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A)

Saturna Capital Corp decreased its position in shares of Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A - Free Report) by 17.6% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 735,744 shares of the medical research company's stock after selling 157,392 shares during the period. Agilent Technologies accounts for 1.3% of Saturna Capital Corp's holdings, making the stock its 28th biggest position. Saturna Capital Corp owned 0.26% of Agilent Technologies worth $86,067,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of A. Redwood Park Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Agilent Technologies in the fourth quarter worth $27,000. Lee Danner & Bass Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Agilent Technologies in the fourth quarter worth $29,000. Sunbelt Securities Inc. grew 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 valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 192 shares during the period. Whipplewood Advisors LLC grew 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 valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 186 shares during the period. Finally, Wood Tarver Financial Group LLC acquired a new stake in Agilent Technologies during the fourth quarter valued at $34,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.42% of the company's stock.

Agilent Technologies Stock Down 2.1%

NYSE:A traded down $2.39 on Friday, hitting $113.97. 1,521,841 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,862,104. The company has a current ratio of 2.09, a quick ratio of 1.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55. Agilent Technologies, Inc. has a 1 year low of $96.43 and a 1 year high of $153.84. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $116.04 and a 200-day moving average price of $122.08. The company has a market cap of $32.37 billion, a PE ratio of 28.14, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.46 and a beta of 1.23.

Agilent Technologies (NYSE:A - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 28th. The medical research company reported $1.31 EPS 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 business had revenue of $1.67 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.63 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.22 EPS. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 6.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts anticipate that Agilent Technologies, Inc. will post 5.58 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Agilent Technologies Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 23rd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, July 1st will be given a $0.248 dividend. This represents a $0.99 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.87%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, July 1st. Agilent Technologies's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 24.44%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on A shares. 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. Evercore ISI raised their price target on shares of Agilent Technologies from $125.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock an "in-line" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 8th. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their price target on shares of Agilent Technologies from $135.00 to $116.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 21st. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Agilent Technologies from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, June 28th. Finally, Barclays raised their price target on shares of Agilent Technologies from $115.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 24th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $139.77.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Padraig Mcdonnell sold 1,508 shares of the company's stock in a transaction 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 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 SEC, which is available through this link. 0.26% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.