Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. Trims Stake in Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A)

Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. reduced its stake in Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A) by 24.0% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 19,837 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 6,266 shares during the period. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc.’s holdings in Agilent Technologies were worth $2,665,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of A. Clarius Group LLC raised its position in shares of Agilent Technologies by 8.3% in the 4th quarter. Clarius Group LLC now owns 2,217 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $298,000 after acquiring an additional 170 shares in the last quarter. Aaron Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in Agilent Technologies by 19.8% in the fourth quarter. Aaron Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 3,210 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $431,000 after purchasing an additional 530 shares during the period. Kera Capital Partners Inc. bought a new position in Agilent Technologies in the fourth quarter worth $216,000. Trust Co. of Vermont lifted its position in Agilent Technologies by 5.2% during the fourth quarter. Trust Co. of Vermont now owns 3,015 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $405,000 after buying an additional 150 shares during the period. Finally, Premier Path Wealth Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Agilent Technologies by 4.8% during the 4th quarter. Premier Path Wealth Partners LLC now owns 2,276 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $306,000 after buying an additional 105 shares in the last quarter.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A has been the subject of several research reports. Barclays decreased their price target on shares of Agilent Technologies from $145.00 to $135.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, November 27th. Citigroup raised their target price on shares of Agilent Technologies to $165.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Agilent Technologies from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 24th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on Agilent Technologies from $157.00 to $155.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, December 9th. Finally, Bank of America lowered their price objective on Agilent Technologies from $153.00 to $150.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, December 13th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $143.62.

Agilent Technologies Trading Up 0.2 %

Shares of NYSE:A opened at $152.87 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57, a current ratio of 2.09 and a quick ratio of 1.58. Agilent Technologies, Inc. has a 1 year low of $124.16 and a 1 year high of $155.35. The company has a market cap of $43.66 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.59, a PEG ratio of 3.98 and a beta of 1.06. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $137.13 and its 200-day moving average price is $137.68.

Agilent Technologies (NYSE:A) last posted its earnings results on Monday, November 25th. The medical research company reported $1.46 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.41 by $0.05. Agilent Technologies had a net margin of 19.80% and a return on equity of 25.43%. The business had revenue of $1.70 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.67 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.38 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up .8% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts expect that Agilent Technologies, Inc. will post 5.56 earnings per share for the current year.

Agilent Technologies Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 22nd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st were given a $0.248 dividend. This represents a $0.99 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.65%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, December 31st. This is an increase from Agilent Technologies’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.24. Agilent Technologies’s payout ratio is 22.40%.

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.