Avestar Capital LLC Has $254,000 Stake in Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A)

Avestar Capital LLC increased its stake in Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A) by 38.9% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 1,893 shares of the medical research company’s stock after purchasing an additional 530 shares during the quarter. Avestar Capital LLC’s holdings in Agilent Technologies were worth $254,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in A. AMF Tjanstepension AB bought a new stake in Agilent Technologies during the third quarter valued at about $2,726,000. Creative Planning boosted its stake in Agilent Technologies by 5.9% during the 3rd quarter. Creative Planning now owns 44,910 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $6,668,000 after purchasing an additional 2,498 shares during the period. Global Retirement Partners LLC grew its holdings in Agilent Technologies by 3.2% in the 3rd quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 2,570 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $382,000 after buying an additional 79 shares during the last quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd increased its position in Agilent Technologies by 2.0% in the 3rd quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd now owns 37,737 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $5,603,000 after buying an additional 757 shares during the period. Finally, V Square Quantitative Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Agilent Technologies by 5.7% during the third quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC now owns 6,387 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $948,000 after buying an additional 343 shares during the last quarter.

Insider Transactions at Agilent Technologies

In other news, CEO Padraig Mcdonnell sold 1,911 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $150.00, for a total transaction of $286,650.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 39,652 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,947,800. This represents a 4.60 % 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 link.

Agilent Technologies Stock Performance

Agilent Technologies stock opened at $134.57 on Friday. Agilent Technologies, Inc. has a 52-week low of $124.16 and a 52-week high of $155.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57, a current ratio of 2.09 and a quick ratio of 1.58. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $141.53 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $139.41. The firm has a market capitalization of $38.39 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.45, a P/E/G ratio of 4.00 and a beta of 1.07.

Agilent Technologies (NYSE:A) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, November 25th. The medical research company reported $1.46 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 firm had revenue of $1.70 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.67 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.38 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up .8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts anticipate that Agilent Technologies, Inc. will post 5.56 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Agilent Technologies Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 22nd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st were paid a $0.248 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, December 31st. This represents a $0.99 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.74%. This is a positive change from Agilent Technologies’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.24. Agilent Technologies’s payout ratio is currently 22.40%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Barclays upgraded shares of Agilent Technologies from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $135.00 to $145.00 in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Bank of America dropped their price objective on shares of Agilent Technologies from $153.00 to $150.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, December 13th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on shares of Agilent Technologies from $157.00 to $155.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, December 9th. StockNews.com upgraded Agilent Technologies from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 24th. Finally, Citigroup raised their price objective on Agilent Technologies to $165.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Agilent Technologies presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $144.38.

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.