Guinness Asset Management LTD Acquires 223 Shares of Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A)

Guinness Asset Management LTD increased its holdings in Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A) by 6.1% in the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 3,892 shares of the medical research company’s stock after buying an additional 223 shares during the period. Guinness Asset Management LTD’s holdings in Agilent Technologies were worth $578,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of A. Wellington Wealth Strategies LLC. purchased a new position in Agilent Technologies in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $246,000. V Square Quantitative Management LLC lifted its stake in Agilent Technologies by 29.9% in the fourth quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC now owns 5,570 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $774,000 after purchasing an additional 1,281 shares during the last quarter. Integrated Advisors Network LLC lifted its stake in Agilent Technologies by 5.0% in the fourth quarter. Integrated Advisors Network LLC now owns 3,868 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $538,000 after purchasing an additional 184 shares during the last quarter. Syon Capital LLC lifted its position in shares of Agilent Technologies by 83.4% during the fourth quarter. Syon Capital LLC now owns 3,498 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $486,000 after acquiring an additional 1,591 shares in the last quarter. Finally, EP Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Agilent Technologies by 34.7% during the fourth quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 10,165 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $1,413,000 after acquiring an additional 2,619 shares in the last quarter.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on A shares. Barclays increased their target price on Agilent Technologies from $125.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Friday, August 23rd. TD Cowen increased their price objective on Agilent Technologies from $153.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company began coverage on Agilent Technologies in a research report on Tuesday, August 27th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $157.00 price objective on the stock. Evercore ISI increased their price objective on Agilent Technologies from $135.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 1st. Finally, Citigroup increased their price objective on Agilent Technologies from $150.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 22nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $143.64.

Agilent Technologies Price Performance

Shares of A traded up $1.08 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $143.82. 1,427,375 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,694,101. The company has a current ratio of 1.78, a quick ratio of 1.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36. Agilent Technologies, Inc. has a 52-week low of $96.80 and a 52-week high of $155.35. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $140.51 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $138.97. The company has a market cap of $41.32 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.84, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.96 and a beta of 1.05.

Agilent Technologies (NYSE:A) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, August 21st. The medical research company reported $1.32 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.26 by $0.06. Agilent Technologies had a net margin of 21.75% and a return on equity of 25.26%. The company had revenue of $1.58 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.56 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.43 EPS. Agilent Technologies’s revenue for the quarter was down 5.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts anticipate that Agilent Technologies, Inc. will post 5.24 earnings per share for the current year.

Agilent Technologies Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 23rd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, October 1st will be given a dividend of $0.236 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, October 1st. This represents a $0.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.66%. Agilent Technologies’s payout ratio is 19.50%.

Insider Activity

In other Agilent Technologies news, CEO Padraig Mcdonnell sold 1,958 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $145.00, for a total transaction of $283,910.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 24,118 shares in the company, valued at $3,497,110. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In other Agilent Technologies news, CEO Padraig Mcdonnell sold 1,958 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $145.00, for a total transaction of $283,910.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 24,118 shares in the company, valued at $3,497,110. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, SVP Dominique Grau sold 9,990 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $145.00, for a total value of $1,448,550.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 40,011 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,801,595. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 13,953 shares of company stock worth $2,013,630 over the last 90 days.

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.