Weaver Capital Management LLC Takes Position in Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A)

Weaver Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A) during the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund purchased 3,300 shares of the medical research company’s stock, valued at approximately $490,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Eastern Bank bought a new stake in Agilent Technologies during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $15,818,000. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Agilent Technologies by 9.5% during the 3rd quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 31,234 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $4,638,000 after acquiring an additional 2,720 shares during the period. Community Financial Services Group LLC bought a new stake in Agilent Technologies during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $206,000. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC increased its holdings in Agilent Technologies by 0.7% during the 3rd quarter. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC now owns 23,760 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $3,528,000 after acquiring an additional 155 shares during the period. Finally, Livelsberger Financial Advisory bought a new stake in Agilent Technologies during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $28,000. Institutional investors own 87.42% of the company’s stock.

Agilent Technologies Trading Down 2.4 %

Shares of A opened at $133.46 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $38.94 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.55, a PEG ratio of 6.96 and a beta of 1.05. The company has a quick ratio of 1.37, a current ratio of 1.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $140.97 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $138.63. Agilent Technologies, Inc. has a twelve month low of $96.80 and a twelve month high of $155.35.

Agilent Technologies (NYSE:A) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 21st. The medical research company reported $1.32 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.26 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $1.58 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.56 billion. Agilent Technologies had a net margin of 21.75% and a return on equity of 25.26%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 5.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.43 EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that Agilent Technologies, Inc. will post 5.24 EPS for the current year.

Agilent Technologies Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 23rd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, October 1st will be given a dividend of $0.236 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, October 1st. This represents a $0.94 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.71%. Agilent Technologies’s payout ratio is currently 22.22%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on A shares. Citigroup increased their price target on shares of Agilent Technologies from $150.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 22nd. Barclays increased their price target on shares of Agilent Technologies from $135.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 15th. Stifel Nicolaus reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $151.00 price target on shares of Agilent Technologies in a report on Monday, August 26th. Evercore ISI increased their price target on shares of Agilent Technologies from $135.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 1st. Finally, TD Cowen increased their price target on shares of Agilent Technologies from $153.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 22nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $144.36.

Insider Buying and Selling at Agilent Technologies

In other Agilent Technologies news, SVP Dominique Grau sold 9,990 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $145.00, for a total value of $1,448,550.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 40,011 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,801,595. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other Agilent Technologies news, SVP Dominique Grau sold 9,990 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $145.00, for a total value of $1,448,550.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 40,011 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,801,595. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Padraig Mcdonnell sold 1,958 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $145.00, for a total transaction of $283,910.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 24,118 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,497,110. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 13,953 shares of company stock valued at $2,013,630 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

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.