Thrivent Financial for Lutherans Reduces Position in Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A)

Thrivent Financial for Lutherans trimmed its holdings in Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A) by 5.0% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 278,011 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 14,778 shares during the period. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans owned 0.10% of Agilent Technologies worth $37,348,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of A. GSA Capital Partners LLP purchased a new position in Agilent Technologies during the third quarter worth approximately $499,000. Natixis Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Agilent Technologies by 15.7% during the 3rd quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 113,991 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $16,926,000 after acquiring an additional 15,435 shares during the period. Quest Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of Agilent Technologies by 339.3% during the 3rd quarter. Quest Partners LLC now owns 6,862 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $1,019,000 after acquiring an additional 5,300 shares during the period. Prospera Financial Services Inc acquired a new position in shares of Agilent Technologies during the 3rd quarter valued at about $375,000. Finally, B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. Holding AG purchased a new stake in shares of Agilent Technologies in the third quarter valued at about $2,331,000.

Insider Activity at Agilent Technologies

In other Agilent Technologies news, VP Rodney Gonsalves sold 1,908 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $121.98, for a total value of $232,737.84. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 21,786 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,657,456.28. This represents a 8.05 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Padraig Mcdonnell sold 1,911 shares of Agilent Technologies stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $150.00, for a total transaction of $286,650.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 39,652 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,947,800. This trade represents a 4.60 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here.

Agilent Technologies Stock Performance

NYSE A opened at $122.27 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56, a current ratio of 2.20 and a quick ratio of 1.66. The company has a market cap of $34.86 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.11, a P/E/G ratio of 3.44 and a beta of 1.11. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $137.41 and a two-hundred day moving average of $137.57. Agilent Technologies, Inc. has a 1-year low of $117.17 and a 1-year high of $155.35.

Agilent Technologies (NYSE:A) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 26th. The medical research company reported $1.31 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.27 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $1.68 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.67 billion. Agilent Technologies had a net margin of 19.27% and a return on equity of 25.56%. As a group, analysts anticipate that Agilent Technologies, Inc. will post 5.57 EPS for the current year.

Agilent Technologies Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 23rd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, April 1st will be paid a $0.248 dividend. This represents a $0.99 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.81%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 1st. Agilent Technologies’s payout ratio is currently 22.76%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have commented on A shares. Barclays raised shares of Agilent Technologies from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $135.00 to $145.00 in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Robert W. Baird decreased their price objective on Agilent Technologies from $161.00 to $159.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 27th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on Agilent Technologies from $165.00 to $160.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, November 26th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on Agilent Technologies from $157.00 to $155.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, December 9th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein lowered their price target on Agilent Technologies from $140.00 to $135.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, November 26th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $146.15.

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.