Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A) Shares Purchased by Argent Capital Management LLC

Argent Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A) by 1.3% during the second quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 29,199 shares of the medical research company’s stock after purchasing an additional 373 shares during the quarter. Argent Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Agilent Technologies were worth $3,785,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in A. Western Pacific Wealth Management LP raised its position in shares of Agilent Technologies by 18.9% during the 1st quarter. Western Pacific Wealth Management LP now owns 440 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $64,000 after buying an additional 70 shares during the period. Ballentine Partners LLC raised its position in Agilent Technologies by 2.5% in the first quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC now owns 2,963 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $431,000 after purchasing an additional 73 shares during the period. Haverford Trust Co lifted its stake in shares of Agilent Technologies by 1.7% in the 1st quarter. Haverford Trust Co now owns 4,423 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $644,000 after purchasing an additional 74 shares during the last quarter. Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management grew its holdings in shares of Agilent Technologies by 3.2% during the 4th quarter. Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management now owns 2,421 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $337,000 after purchasing an additional 75 shares during the period. Finally, Monumental Financial Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Agilent Technologies by 0.9% during the 4th quarter. Monumental Financial Group Inc. now owns 9,493 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $1,320,000 after purchasing an additional 89 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.42% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Agilent Technologies

In related news, SVP Dominique Grau sold 15,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $133.28, for a total value of $1,999,200.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 49,486 shares in the company, valued at $6,595,494.08. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, CEO Padraig Mcdonnell sold 1,958 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, July 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $140.00, for a total transaction of $274,120.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 26,076 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,650,640. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, SVP Dominique Grau sold 15,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $133.28, for a total transaction of $1,999,200.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 49,486 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,595,494.08. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 20,874 shares of company stock worth $2,811,770 in the last three months. Insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

Agilent Technologies Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:A traded up $0.65 on Friday, reaching $140.87. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,735,656 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,758,116. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a current ratio of 2.15 and a quick ratio of 1.64. Agilent Technologies, Inc. has a 52-week low of $96.80 and a 52-week high of $155.35. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $134.16 and its two-hundred day moving average is $138.54. The stock has a market capitalization of $41.10 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.30, a PEG ratio of 4.86 and a beta of 1.05.

Agilent Technologies (NYSE:A) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 21st. The medical research company reported $1.32 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.26 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $1.58 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.56 billion. Agilent Technologies had a return on equity of 26.25% and a net margin of 18.84%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 5.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.43 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Agilent Technologies, Inc. will post 5.24 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Bank of America lifted their price target on shares of Agilent Technologies from $140.00 to $147.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday. Barclays lifted their price objective on Agilent Technologies from $125.00 to $135.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Friday. TD Cowen lifted their price target on shares of Agilent Technologies from $153.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday. Wolfe Research downgraded Agilent Technologies from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a report on Thursday, June 27th. Finally, Robert W. Baird cut their target price on Agilent Technologies from $147.00 to $136.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, May 30th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $140.80.

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.