Grimes & Company Inc. Sells 8,289 Shares of Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A)

Grimes & Company Inc. trimmed its holdings in shares of Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A) by 8.2% during the third quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 93,340 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 8,289 shares during the quarter. Grimes & Company Inc.’s holdings in Agilent Technologies were worth $13,859,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in Agilent Technologies by 18.2% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 29,884,345 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $4,348,471,000 after buying an additional 4,605,228 shares during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its position in Agilent Technologies by 13.9% during the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 8,542,054 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $1,242,956,000 after buying an additional 1,042,926 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its position in Agilent Technologies by 5.7% during the 2nd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 15,064,660 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $1,952,832,000 after buying an additional 809,149 shares during the period. Champlain Investment Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Agilent Technologies during the 1st quarter worth approximately $61,218,000. Finally, Marshall Wace LLP boosted its position in Agilent Technologies by 48.6% during the 2nd quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 957,128 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $124,073,000 after buying an additional 313,155 shares during the period. 87.42% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A has been the topic of several recent research reports. Citigroup lifted their target price on shares of Agilent Technologies from $150.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 22nd. UBS Group raised their price target on shares of Agilent Technologies from $141.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, August 22nd. TD Cowen raised their price target on shares of Agilent Technologies from $153.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 22nd. Barclays raised their price target on shares of Agilent Technologies from $135.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 15th. Finally, Bank of America lifted their price objective on shares of Agilent Technologies from $140.00 to $147.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 22nd. One 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 stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $144.36.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Dominique Grau sold 9,990 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $145.00, for a total transaction of $1,448,550.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 40,011 shares in the company, valued at $5,801,595. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. In other news, 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 in the company, valued at approximately $5,801,595. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, 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 represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 13,953 shares of company stock worth $2,013,630 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

Agilent Technologies Stock Performance

Agilent Technologies stock traded down $0.38 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $132.65. The stock had a trading volume of 27,529 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,678,490. Agilent Technologies, Inc. has a 12 month low of $96.80 and a 12 month high of $155.35. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $140.91 and its 200 day moving average price is $138.59. The firm has a market capitalization of $38.70 billion, a PE ratio of 31.45, a P/E/G ratio of 6.96 and a beta of 1.05. The company has a quick ratio of 1.37, a current ratio of 1.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36.

Agilent Technologies (NYSE:A) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 21st. The medical research company reported $1.32 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.26 by $0.06. Agilent Technologies had a return on equity of 25.26% and a net margin of 21.75%. The business had revenue of $1.58 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.56 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.43 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 5.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts predict that Agilent Technologies, Inc. will post 5.24 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Agilent Technologies Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, October 23rd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, October 1st were given a dividend of $0.236 per share. This represents a $0.94 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.71%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, October 1st. Agilent Technologies’s dividend payout ratio is presently 22.22%.

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.