Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A) Shares Sold by Bahl & Gaynor Inc.

Bahl & Gaynor Inc. decreased its position in shares of Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A) by 3.3% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 11,846 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 409 shares during the quarter. Bahl & Gaynor Inc.’s holdings in Agilent Technologies were worth $1,536,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Crewe Advisors LLC raised its stake in Agilent Technologies by 114.8% during the 2nd quarter. Crewe Advisors LLC now owns 189 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 101 shares in the last quarter. Livelsberger Financial Advisory acquired a new position in shares of Agilent Technologies during the fourth quarter valued at $26,000. Ridgewood Investments LLC bought a new stake in shares of Agilent Technologies during the second quarter valued at about $29,000. Rise Advisors LLC grew its position in Agilent Technologies by 527.8% in the 1st quarter. Rise Advisors LLC now owns 226 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $33,000 after buying an additional 190 shares in the last quarter. Finally, YHB Investment Advisors Inc. bought a new position in Agilent Technologies in the 1st quarter valued at about $34,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.42% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Padraig Mcdonnell sold 1,958 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $145.00, for a total value of $283,910.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 24,118 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,497,110. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

Agilent Technologies Stock Performance

Agilent Technologies stock opened at $138.65 on Thursday. Agilent Technologies, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $96.80 and a fifty-two week high of $155.35. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $136.33 and its 200-day simple moving average is $139.16. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a current ratio of 1.78 and a quick ratio of 1.37. The company has a market cap of $40.45 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.78, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.36 and a beta of 1.05.

Agilent Technologies (NYSE:A) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 21st. The medical research company reported $1.32 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.26 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $1.58 billion for 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 company’s quarterly revenue was down 5.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.43 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Agilent Technologies, Inc. will post 5.24 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on A. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on shares of Agilent Technologies from $165.00 to $155.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 30th. TD Cowen upped their target price on Agilent Technologies from $153.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 22nd. Barclays increased their price target on Agilent Technologies from $125.00 to $135.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Friday, August 23rd. Stifel Nicolaus reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $151.00 price objective on shares of Agilent Technologies in a research note on Monday, August 26th. Finally, Evercore ISI raised their target price on Agilent Technologies from $130.00 to $135.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 22nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Agilent Technologies currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $141.60.

About Agilent Technologies

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.