Sienna Gestion Sells 7,226 Shares of Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A)

Key Points

• Sienna Gestion reduced its stake in Agilent Technologies by 9.2%, selling 7,226 shares, leaving it with a total of 71,219 shares valued at approximately $8.1 million.
• Agilent Technologies reported a 6.0% increase in revenue year-over-year for the quarter, with earnings per share of $1.31, surpassing analysts' expectations.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.248 per share, yielding 0.8%, with a payout ratio of 24.44%.

Sienna Gestion trimmed its position in shares of Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A - Free Report) by 9.2% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 71,219 shares of the medical research company's stock after selling 7,226 shares during the period. Sienna Gestion's holdings in Agilent Technologies were worth $8,098,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Brighton Jones LLC raised its holdings in shares of Agilent Technologies by 6.1% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 4,663 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $626,000 after purchasing an additional 270 shares during the last quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Agilent Technologies by 33.5% in the 4th quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC now owns 2,593 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $348,000 after purchasing an additional 651 shares in the last quarter. Sagespring Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Agilent Technologies during the 4th quarter valued at $247,000. Synovus Financial Corp grew its holdings in Agilent Technologies by 7.7% during the 4th quarter. Synovus Financial Corp now owns 1,934 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $260,000 after buying an additional 139 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Guggenheim Capital LLC boosted its position in shares of Agilent Technologies by 3.5% during the 4th quarter. Guggenheim Capital LLC now owns 9,804 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $1,317,000 after acquiring an additional 332 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.41% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at Agilent Technologies

In related news, CEO Padraig Mcdonnell sold 1,508 shares of Agilent Technologies stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 sale, the chief executive officer owned 37,448 shares in the company, valued at approximately $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 accessible through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.26% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently commented on A. 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. UBS Group lowered their price target on shares of Agilent Technologies from $150.00 to $130.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, May 29th. Jefferies Financial Group lowered 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. Leerink Partners raised their price target on shares of Agilent Technologies to $135.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, May 30th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded Agilent Technologies from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, June 28th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Agilent Technologies currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $139.77.

Agilent Technologies Stock Performance

A traded up $0.43 during trading on Friday, reaching $119.30. 1,238,463 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,437,926. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $117.82 and a 200 day moving average price of $118.31. 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, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $96.43 and a fifty-two week high of $153.84. The company has a market capitalization of $33.89 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.46, a PEG ratio of 3.62 and a beta of 1.22.

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

Agilent Technologies Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 23rd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, July 1st were paid a dividend of $0.248 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, July 1st. This represents a $0.99 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.8%. Agilent Technologies's dividend payout ratio is currently 24.44%.

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.