Dudley & Shanley Inc. Has $6.61 Million Stock Holdings in Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A)

Dudley & Shanley Inc. trimmed its position in shares of Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A) by 12.0% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 49,200 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 6,700 shares during the period. Agilent Technologies accounts for approximately 1.0% of Dudley & Shanley Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 27th biggest position. Dudley & Shanley Inc.’s holdings in Agilent Technologies were worth $6,610,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Livelsberger Financial Advisory bought a new position in Agilent Technologies during the third quarter worth about $28,000. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC acquired a new position in Agilent Technologies in the 3rd quarter valued at $31,000. Fortitude Family Office LLC lifted its position in shares of Agilent Technologies by 68.3% during the 3rd quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 234 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $35,000 after acquiring an additional 95 shares during the period. RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Agilent Technologies during the 3rd quarter worth $38,000. Finally, Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC bought a new position in shares of Agilent Technologies in the second quarter worth $39,000. 87.42% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Agilent Technologies Stock Up 1.5 %

A traded up $1.99 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $135.42. 246,805 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 592,589. The company has a market cap of $38.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.64, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.48 and a beta of 1.07. Agilent Technologies, Inc. has a one year low of $124.16 and a one year high of $155.35. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $135.39 and its 200 day moving average price is $136.61. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57, a quick ratio of 1.58 and a current ratio of 2.09.

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

Agilent Technologies Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 22nd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st will be issued a $0.248 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 31st. This represents a $0.99 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.73%. This is a boost from Agilent Technologies’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.24. Agilent Technologies’s dividend payout ratio is presently 22.40%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently commented on A shares. Wells Fargo & Company dropped 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 report on Monday, December 9th. Sanford C. Bernstein reduced their price objective on Agilent Technologies from $140.00 to $135.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, November 26th. Barclays cut their price target on Agilent Technologies from $145.00 to $135.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, November 27th. 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. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Agilent Technologies from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 24th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Agilent Technologies presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $143.62.

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.