BNP Paribas Cuts Stock Position in Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A)

BNP Paribas decreased its holdings in shares of Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A) by 17.4% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 15,866 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 3,333 shares during the quarter. BNP Paribas’ holdings in Agilent Technologies were worth $2,353,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Livelsberger Financial Advisory bought a new stake in shares of Agilent Technologies in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Crewe Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Agilent Technologies by 114.8% during the 2nd quarter. Crewe Advisors LLC now owns 189 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 101 shares during the period. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC bought a new stake in Agilent Technologies in the third quarter worth $31,000. Ridgewood Investments LLC bought a new stake in Agilent Technologies in the second quarter worth $29,000. Finally, Fortitude Family Office LLC boosted its stake in Agilent Technologies by 68.3% during the third quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 234 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $35,000 after buying an additional 95 shares during the period.

Insider Buying and Selling at Agilent Technologies

In other news, SVP Dominique Grau sold 9,990 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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 completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 40,011 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,801,595. This represents a 19.98 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A has been the subject of several analyst reports. Evercore ISI raised their target price on shares of Agilent Technologies from $135.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 1st. UBS Group boosted their price objective on Agilent Technologies from $141.00 to $150.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, August 22nd. Citigroup lifted their target price on Agilent Technologies from $150.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 22nd. Bank of America raised their price target on shares of Agilent Technologies from $140.00 to $147.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 22nd. Finally, Barclays dropped their target price on shares of Agilent Technologies from $145.00 to $135.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $143.40.

Agilent Technologies Stock Down 0.1 %

Shares of NYSE A opened at $134.35 on Wednesday. Agilent Technologies, Inc. has a 12-month low of $124.10 and a 12-month high of $155.35. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $137.74 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $137.43. The stock has a market capitalization of $38.60 billion, a PE ratio of 30.40, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.91 and a beta of 1.07. 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 Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 22nd. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 31st will be given a dividend of $0.248 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, December 31st. This represents a $0.99 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.74%. This is an increase from Agilent Technologies’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.24. Agilent Technologies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 21.27%.

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.