Quarry LP Buys 2,991 Shares of Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A)

Quarry LP raised its stake in shares of Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A) by 535.1% in the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 3,550 shares of the medical research company’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,991 shares during the period. Quarry LP’s holdings in Agilent Technologies were worth $527,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Menard Financial Group LLC grew its holdings in Agilent Technologies by 1.6% during the second quarter. Menard Financial Group LLC now owns 4,845 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $628,000 after purchasing an additional 77 shares during the period. McAdam LLC boosted its stake in shares of Agilent Technologies by 3.1% in the third quarter. McAdam LLC now owns 2,531 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $376,000 after acquiring an additional 77 shares during the period. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. boosted its stake in shares of Agilent Technologies by 13.5% in the third quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. now owns 646 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $96,000 after acquiring an additional 77 shares during the period. Global Retirement Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of Agilent Technologies by 3.2% in the third quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 2,570 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $382,000 after acquiring an additional 79 shares during the period. Finally, Rovin Capital UT ADV boosted its stake in shares of Agilent Technologies by 1.6% in the third quarter. Rovin Capital UT ADV now owns 5,049 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $750,000 after acquiring an additional 81 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 87.42% of the company’s stock.

Agilent Technologies Trading Down 1.7 %

Shares of NYSE A opened at $137.86 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57, a quick ratio of 1.58 and a current ratio of 2.09. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $137.38 and its 200-day moving average price is $136.97. Agilent Technologies, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $124.16 and a fifty-two week high of $155.35. The company has a market cap of $39.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.19, a PEG ratio of 4.42 and a beta of 1.07.

Agilent Technologies (NYSE:A) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, November 25th. The medical research company reported $1.46 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.41 by $0.05. Agilent Technologies had a return on equity of 25.43% and a net margin of 19.80%. The firm had revenue of $1.70 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.67 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.38 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up .8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Agilent Technologies, Inc. will post 5.56 earnings per share for the current year.

Agilent Technologies Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 22nd. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 31st will be paid a $0.248 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 31st. This represents a $0.99 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.72%. This is a boost from Agilent Technologies’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.24. Agilent Technologies’s dividend payout ratio is 22.40%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. StockNews.com lowered Agilent Technologies from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 26th. Stifel Nicolaus reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $151.00 price objective on shares of Agilent Technologies in a research note on Monday, August 26th. Wells Fargo & Company initiated coverage on Agilent Technologies in a research report on Tuesday, August 27th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $157.00 target price on the stock. Barclays decreased their target price on Agilent Technologies from $145.00 to $135.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, November 27th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on Agilent Technologies from $165.00 to $160.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, November 26th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $143.40.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Agilent Technologies news, SVP Dominique Grau sold 9,990 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $145.00, for a total transaction of $1,448,550.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 40,011 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,801,595. This trade represents a 19.98 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.33% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.