Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A) Shares Sold by Vestal Point Capital LP

Vestal Point Capital LP trimmed its position in Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A - Free Report) by 25.0% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 75,000 shares of the medical research company's stock after selling 25,000 shares during the period. Vestal Point Capital LP's holdings in Agilent Technologies were worth $10,076,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. CKW Financial Group raised its holdings in shares of Agilent Technologies by 114.9% in the fourth quarter. CKW Financial Group now owns 187 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. Global X Japan Co. Ltd. increased its position in shares of Agilent Technologies by 161.1% in the 4th quarter. Global X Japan Co. Ltd. now owns 188 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 116 shares during the period. Redwood Park Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Agilent Technologies in the 4th quarter worth $27,000. Lee Danner & Bass Inc. acquired a new stake in Agilent Technologies during the 4th quarter worth about $29,000. Finally, Hanson & Doremus Investment Management grew its stake in Agilent Technologies by 66.5% during the 4th quarter. Hanson & Doremus Investment Management now owns 263 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 105 shares during the last quarter.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, VP Rodney Gonsalves sold 1,908 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $121.98, for a total transaction of $232,737.84. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 21,786 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,657,456.28. The trade was a 8.05% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Daniel K. Podolsky sold 1,819 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $116.46, for a total transaction of $211,840.74. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 35,737 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,161,931.02. The trade was a 4.84% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on A. Jefferies Financial Group cut their price objective on Agilent Technologies from $135.00 to $116.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 21st. Barclays cut their price target on shares of Agilent Technologies from $138.00 to $115.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 10th. TD Cowen lifted their price objective on shares of Agilent Technologies to $135.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 10th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on shares of Agilent Technologies from $155.00 to $135.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. Finally, Robert W. Baird decreased their target price on shares of Agilent Technologies from $159.00 to $140.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Agilent Technologies presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $141.42.

Agilent Technologies Price Performance

A traded up $0.82 during trading on Thursday, hitting $109.73. The company's stock had a trading volume of 2,379,844 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,922,250. The firm has a market capitalization of $31.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.23, a P/E/G ratio of 3.20 and a beta of 1.27. Agilent Technologies, Inc. has a twelve month low of $96.43 and a twelve month high of $153.84. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $109.98 and its 200 day simple moving average is $127.76. The company has a current ratio of 2.20, a quick ratio of 1.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56.

Agilent Technologies (NYSE:A - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 26th. The medical research company reported $1.31 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.27 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $1.68 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.67 billion. Agilent Technologies had a net margin of 19.27% and a return on equity of 25.56%. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Agilent Technologies, Inc. will post 5.54 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Agilent Technologies Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 23rd. Investors of record on Tuesday, July 1st will be paid a $0.248 dividend. This represents a $0.99 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.90%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, July 1st. Agilent Technologies's dividend payout ratio is presently 22.76%.

About Agilent Technologies

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.