Miracle Mile Advisors LLC Trims Stake in Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A)

Miracle Mile Advisors LLC cut its position in shares of Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A) by 7.3% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,499 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 197 shares during the period. Miracle Mile Advisors LLC’s holdings in Agilent Technologies were worth $292,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in A. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Agilent Technologies during the 4th quarter valued at about $456,963,000. Madison Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Agilent Technologies in the 4th quarter worth approximately $94,051,000. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its position in shares of Agilent Technologies by 15,648.1% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 627,247 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $73,375,000 after purchasing an additional 623,264 shares during the period. Two Sigma Investments LP boosted its stake in shares of Agilent Technologies by 345.9% during the fourth quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP now owns 769,897 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $103,428,000 after purchasing an additional 597,249 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Iron Triangle Partners LP bought a new position in shares of Agilent Technologies during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $80,110,000.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have issued reports on A. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on Agilent Technologies from $155.00 to $135.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. UBS Group decreased their price objective on Agilent Technologies from $150.00 to $130.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 29th. Robert W. Baird cut their target price on Agilent Technologies from $159.00 to $140.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, May 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on shares of Agilent Technologies from $160.00 to $155.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, May 29th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price target on shares of Agilent Technologies from $135.00 to $116.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 21st. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Agilent Technologies has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $140.15.

Agilent Technologies Trading Down 0.6%

Shares of Agilent Technologies stock opened at $119.80 on Thursday. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $108.67 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $125.69. The firm has a market capitalization of $34.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.58, a PEG ratio of 3.54 and a beta of 1.23. Agilent Technologies, Inc. has a 12-month low of $96.43 and a 12-month high of $153.84. The company has a current ratio of 2.09, a quick ratio of 1.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55.

Agilent Technologies (NYSE:A) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, May 28th. The medical research company reported $1.31 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.26 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $1.67 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.63 billion. Agilent Technologies had a return on equity of 25.92% and a net margin of 17.59%. The firm’s revenue was up 6.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.22 EPS. Analysts predict that Agilent Technologies, Inc. will post 5.58 EPS for the current year.

Agilent Technologies Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 23rd. Investors of record on Tuesday, July 1st will be issued a dividend of $0.248 per share. This represents a $0.99 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.83%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, July 1st. Agilent Technologies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 24.44%.

Insider Activity at Agilent Technologies

In other news, VP Rodney Gonsalves sold 1,908 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $121.98, for a total transaction of $232,737.84. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 21,786 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,657,456.28. This trade represents a 8.05% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Director Daniel K. Podolsky sold 1,819 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $116.46, for a total transaction of $211,840.74. Following the sale, the director now owns 35,737 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,161,931.02. This represents a 4.84% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here.

Agilent Technologies 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.