First Hawaiian Bank Boosts Stock Position in Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A)

First Hawaiian Bank raised its position in shares of Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A) by 9.7% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 10,903 shares of the medical research company’s stock after purchasing an additional 961 shares during the quarter. First Hawaiian Bank’s holdings in Agilent Technologies were worth $1,413,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Livelsberger Financial Advisory purchased a new position in Agilent Technologies in the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. MV Capital Management Inc. raised its position in Agilent Technologies by 120.7% in the fourth quarter. MV Capital Management Inc. now owns 192 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 105 shares during the period. VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Agilent Technologies during the 4th quarter valued at $29,000. Rise Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Agilent Technologies by 527.8% in the 1st quarter. Rise Advisors LLC now owns 226 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 190 shares in the last quarter. Finally, YHB Investment Advisors Inc. bought a new position in Agilent Technologies in the 1st quarter worth $34,000. 87.42% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Agilent Technologies Stock Up 3.1 %

Shares of A stock traded up $4.20 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $138.90. 564,825 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,778,891. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $133.00 and its 200-day moving average is $138.02. The company has a current ratio of 2.15, a quick ratio of 1.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34. Agilent Technologies, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $96.80 and a fifty-two week high of $155.35. The company has a market cap of $40.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.67, a P/E/G ratio of 4.86 and a beta of 1.05.

Agilent Technologies (NYSE:A) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, May 29th. The medical research company reported $1.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.19 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $1.57 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.58 billion. Agilent Technologies had a return on equity of 26.25% and a net margin of 18.84%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 8.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.27 EPS. Analysts predict that Agilent Technologies, Inc. will post 5.24 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Agilent Technologies Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 24th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, July 2nd were issued a $0.236 dividend. This represents a $0.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.68%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, July 2nd. Agilent Technologies’s payout ratio is presently 22.22%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have issued reports on A shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on Agilent Technologies from $165.00 to $155.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, May 30th. TD Cowen reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $153.00 target price on shares of Agilent Technologies in a research report on Monday, July 29th. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a “hold” rating and issued a $135.00 target price (down from $152.00) on shares of Agilent Technologies in a report on Monday, June 3rd. Evercore ISI increased their target price on shares of Agilent Technologies from $126.00 to $130.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 2nd. Finally, Citigroup upgraded Agilent Technologies from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $135.00 to $150.00 in a research report on Wednesday, July 10th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $138.06.

Insider Activity at Agilent Technologies

In related news, CEO Padraig Mcdonnell sold 1,958 shares of Agilent Technologies stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $140.00, for a total value of $274,120.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 26,076 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,650,640. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, CEO Padraig Mcdonnell sold 1,958 shares of Agilent Technologies stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $140.00, for a total value of $274,120.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 26,076 shares in the company, valued at $3,650,640. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, SVP Dominique Grau sold 15,000 shares of Agilent Technologies stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $133.28, for a total value of $1,999,200.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 49,486 shares in the company, valued at $6,595,494.08. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 18,916 shares of company stock worth $2,527,860 in the last three months. Company insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

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.