Prentiss Smith & Co. Inc. Sells 443 Shares of Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A)

Prentiss Smith & Co. Inc. reduced its stake in shares of Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A) by 2.8% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 15,611 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 443 shares during the period. Agilent Technologies comprises approximately 1.4% of Prentiss Smith & Co. Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 26th biggest position. Prentiss Smith & Co. Inc.’s holdings in Agilent Technologies were worth $2,097,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its stake in Agilent Technologies by 3.5% during the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 15,589,874 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $2,314,784,000 after buying an additional 525,214 shares during the period. FMR LLC raised its holdings in Agilent Technologies by 62.2% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,287,665 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $191,193,000 after purchasing an additional 493,947 shares in the last quarter. Worldquant Millennium Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Agilent Technologies during the 3rd quarter valued at $49,449,000. Jennison Associates LLC grew its position in shares of Agilent Technologies by 63.3% in the 3rd quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 586,439 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $87,075,000 after buying an additional 227,431 shares during the period. Finally, Ilex Capital Partners UK LLP purchased a new position in Agilent Technologies during the 3rd quarter valued at about $33,087,000.

Insider Activity at Agilent Technologies

In other Agilent Technologies news, CEO Padraig Mcdonnell sold 1,911 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,947,800. The trade was a 4.60 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website.

Agilent Technologies Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:A traded down $1.87 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $148.48. The stock had a trading volume of 217,896 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,685,512. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $139.40 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $138.50. The stock has a market capitalization of $42.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.64, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.12 and a beta of 1.06. Agilent Technologies, Inc. has a 12-month low of $124.16 and a 12-month high of $155.35. 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 (NYSE:A) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, November 25th. The medical research company reported $1.46 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.67 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.38 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up .8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts expect that Agilent Technologies, Inc. will post 5.56 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Agilent Technologies Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 22nd. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 31st were issued a dividend of $0.248 per share. 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. This represents a $0.99 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.67%. Agilent Technologies’s dividend payout ratio is 22.40%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently commented on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on shares of Agilent Technologies from $165.00 to $160.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, November 26th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on shares of Agilent Technologies from $157.00 to $155.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, December 9th. Bank of America cut their price target on Agilent Technologies from $153.00 to $150.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday, December 13th. Barclays dropped 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 report on Wednesday, November 27th. Finally, Evercore ISI lifted their target price on shares of Agilent Technologies from $135.00 to $145.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 1st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price 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.