Paloma Partners Management Co Cuts Stock Holdings in Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A)

Paloma Partners Management Co cut its stake in shares of Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A) by 26.4% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 12,344 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 4,419 shares during the period. Paloma Partners Management Co’s holdings in Agilent Technologies were worth $1,833,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Crewe Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Agilent Technologies by 114.8% in the second quarter. Crewe Advisors LLC now owns 189 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 101 shares during the last quarter. Livelsberger Financial Advisory purchased a new position in Agilent Technologies during the third quarter worth about $28,000. Ridgewood Investments LLC purchased a new stake in Agilent Technologies in the 2nd quarter valued at about $29,000. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC bought a new position in shares of Agilent Technologies during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $31,000. Finally, Fortitude Family Office LLC boosted its stake in shares of Agilent Technologies by 68.3% in the 3rd 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 last quarter. 87.42% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently commented on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on Agilent Technologies from $165.00 to $160.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, November 26th. Wells Fargo & Company started coverage on Agilent Technologies in a research note on Tuesday, August 27th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $157.00 target price on the stock. Bank of America increased 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, August 22nd. StockNews.com lowered shares of Agilent Technologies from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 26th. Finally, Evercore ISI increased their target price on shares of Agilent Technologies from $135.00 to $145.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 1st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $143.40.

Agilent Technologies Stock Up 1.2 %

Shares of NYSE A opened at $139.60 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.37, a current ratio of 2.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57. The company has a market cap of $40.11 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.58, a P/E/G ratio of 4.37 and a beta of 1.07. Agilent Technologies, Inc. has a 52 week low of $124.16 and a 52 week high of $155.35. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $137.60 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $137.15.

Agilent Technologies Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 22nd. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 31st will be issued a dividend of $0.248 per share. This represents a $0.99 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.71%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, December 31st. This is a positive change from Agilent Technologies’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.24. Agilent Technologies’s dividend payout ratio is 22.40%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, SVP Dominique Grau sold 9,990 shares of the company’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 directly owns 40,011 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,801,595. This represents a 19.98 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

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.