Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund Reduces Position in Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A)

Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund cut its holdings in shares of Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:AFree Report) by 28.7% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 8,351 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 3,363 shares during the period. Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund’s holdings in Agilent Technologies were worth $977,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of A. Redwood Park Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Agilent Technologies in the fourth quarter worth about $27,000. Lee Danner & Bass Inc. purchased a new position in Agilent Technologies in the fourth quarter worth about $29,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC boosted its position in Agilent Technologies by 286.2% in the first quarter. Whipplewood Advisors LLC now owns 251 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 186 shares during the last quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. boosted its position in Agilent Technologies by 640.0% in the fourth quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. now owns 222 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 192 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Opal Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Agilent Technologies in the first quarter worth about $31,000. 87.42% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A has been the topic of several research reports. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their target price on Agilent Technologies from $135.00 to $116.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 21st. Robert W. Baird decreased their price objective 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. UBS Group decreased their price objective on Agilent Technologies from $150.00 to $130.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, May 29th. Leerink Partners raised their price objective on Agilent Technologies to $135.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, May 30th. Finally, TD Cowen raised their price objective on Agilent Technologies to $150.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 29th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Agilent Technologies presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $140.15.

Read Our Latest Report on Agilent Technologies

Agilent Technologies Stock Up 0.6%

Shares of A opened at $116.21 on Tuesday. The business’s 50 day moving average is $110.89 and its 200 day moving average is $124.33. The company has a market capitalization of $33.01 billion, a PE ratio of 28.69, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.51 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:AGet Free Report) last issued 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 company 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 quarterly revenue was up 6.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.22 EPS. Research analysts expect that Agilent Technologies, Inc. will post 5.58 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Agilent Technologies Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 23rd. Investors of record on Tuesday, July 1st will be paid a dividend of $0.248 per share. This represents a $0.99 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.85%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, July 1st. Agilent Technologies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 24.44%.

Insider Activity at Agilent Technologies

In other Agilent Technologies news, Director Daniel K. Podolsky sold 1,819 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $116.46, for a total transaction of $211,840.74. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 35,737 shares in the company, valued at $4,161,931.02. This trade represents a 4.84% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 0.26% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Agilent Technologies Company Profile

(Free Report)

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.

Featured Stories

Institutional Ownership by Quarter for Agilent Technologies (NYSE:A)

Receive News & Ratings for Agilent Technologies Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Agilent Technologies and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter.