Metis Global Partners LLC Reduces Position in Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A)

Metis Global Partners LLC cut its stake in Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A) by 6.1% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 14,100 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 910 shares during the quarter. Metis Global Partners LLC’s holdings in Agilent Technologies were worth $1,960,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC increased its stake in Agilent Technologies by 0.9% during the third quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 33,586 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $3,756,000 after acquiring an additional 313 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in Agilent Technologies by 19.5% in the 3rd quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. now owns 49,413 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $5,525,000 after buying an additional 8,063 shares during the period. IFM Investors Pty Ltd lifted its position in Agilent Technologies by 3.3% in the third quarter. IFM Investors Pty Ltd now owns 61,886 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $6,920,000 after buying an additional 1,958 shares during the last quarter. Waldron Private Wealth LLC increased its position in shares of Agilent Technologies by 4.7% during the third quarter. Waldron Private Wealth LLC now owns 3,110 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $347,000 after acquiring an additional 141 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Park Avenue Securities LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Agilent Technologies in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $870,000.

Insider Activity at Agilent Technologies

In other news, Director Heidi Fields sold 1,658 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $144.34, for a total transaction of $239,315.72. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 54,976 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,935,235.84. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other news, CEO Michael R. Mcmullen sold 52,297 shares of Agilent Technologies stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $150.00, for a total transaction of $7,844,550.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 253,909 shares in the company, valued at $38,086,350. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Heidi Fields sold 1,658 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $144.34, for a total transaction of $239,315.72. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 54,976 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,935,235.84. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 61,610 shares of company stock valued at $9,220,333.

Agilent Technologies Price Performance

Shares of NYSE A opened at $141.27 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $41.40 billion, a PE ratio of 33.64, a P/E/G ratio of 4.22 and a beta of 1.13. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41, a current ratio of 2.68 and a quick ratio of 2.04. Agilent Technologies, Inc. has a 1-year low of $96.80 and a 1-year high of $151.58. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $142.43 and a 200 day moving average price of $132.24.

Agilent Technologies (NYSE:A) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 27th. The medical research company reported $1.29 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.22 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $1.66 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.59 billion. Agilent Technologies had a return on equity of 27.09% and a net margin of 18.35%. Agilent Technologies’s revenue was down 5.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.37 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts forecast that Agilent Technologies, Inc. will post 5.5 EPS for the current year.

Agilent Technologies Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 24th. Investors of record on Tuesday, April 2nd were given a $0.236 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, April 1st. This represents a $0.94 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.67%. Agilent Technologies’s dividend payout ratio is presently 22.38%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently issued reports on A. Barclays increased their target price on Agilent Technologies from $125.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. UBS Group increased their price target on shares of Agilent Technologies from $130.00 to $155.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 28th. Citigroup lifted their price objective on shares of Agilent Technologies from $130.00 to $145.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 28th. Stifel Nicolaus upgraded shares of Agilent Technologies from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $145.00 to $163.00 in a report on Friday, April 5th. Finally, Oppenheimer boosted their price target on shares of Agilent Technologies from $67.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 26th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $141.29.

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.