Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A) Shares Acquired by Fenimore Asset Management Inc

Fenimore Asset Management Inc lifted its stake in shares of Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A) by 1.4% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 179,473 shares of the medical research company’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,399 shares during the quarter. Fenimore Asset Management Inc’s holdings in Agilent Technologies were worth $24,110,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in A. Van ECK Associates Corp raised its position in Agilent Technologies by 6.6% during the 3rd quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 2,976,905 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $442,011,000 after buying an additional 183,716 shares during the last quarter. Vestal Point Capital LP acquired a new stake in shares of Agilent Technologies in the third quarter worth $14,848,000. Empowered Funds LLC raised its holdings in shares of Agilent Technologies by 29.8% during the third quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 30,978 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $4,592,000 after purchasing an additional 7,111 shares during the last quarter. Czech National Bank lifted its position in Agilent Technologies by 6.5% during the third quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 59,456 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $8,828,000 after purchasing an additional 3,612 shares during the period. Finally, S.E.E.D. Planning Group LLC boosted its holdings in Agilent Technologies by 12.7% in the fourth quarter. S.E.E.D. Planning Group LLC now owns 42,587 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $5,721,000 after purchasing an additional 4,805 shares during the last quarter.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Padraig Mcdonnell sold 1,911 shares of Agilent Technologies stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 39,652 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,947,800. This trade represents a 4.60 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on A shares. Bank of America decreased their price objective on Agilent Technologies from $153.00 to $150.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday, December 13th. Sanford C. Bernstein decreased 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. Citigroup upped their price objective on Agilent Technologies to $165.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. StockNews.com raised shares of Agilent Technologies from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 24th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on shares of Agilent Technologies from $165.00 to $160.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, November 26th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $143.62.

Agilent Technologies Stock Down 0.8 %

A opened at $151.24 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.58, a current ratio of 2.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57. Agilent Technologies, Inc. has a twelve month low of $124.16 and a twelve month high of $155.35. The company has a market cap of $43.19 billion, a PE ratio of 34.22, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.12 and a beta of 1.06. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $138.43 and a 200 day moving average price of $138.06.

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

Agilent Technologies Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 22nd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st were issued a dividend of $0.248 per share. This is a positive change from Agilent Technologies’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.24. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, December 31st. This represents a $0.99 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.66%. Agilent Technologies’s dividend payout ratio is presently 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.