Cantillon Capital Management LLC Sells 98,574 Shares of Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A)

Cantillon Capital Management LLC cut its holdings in Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A) by 2.9% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 3,298,930 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 98,574 shares during the period. Agilent Technologies comprises approximately 3.0% of Cantillon Capital Management LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 14th biggest holding. Cantillon Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Agilent Technologies were worth $489,825,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. Crewe Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Agilent Technologies by 114.8% in the second 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 during the last quarter. Livelsberger Financial Advisory bought a new stake in shares of Agilent Technologies in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $28,000. Ridgewood Investments LLC purchased a new position in Agilent Technologies in the second quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC bought a new position in Agilent Technologies during the third quarter valued at $31,000. Finally, Fortitude Family Office LLC grew its holdings in Agilent Technologies by 68.3% during the third quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 234 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 95 shares during the period. 87.42% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Agilent Technologies

In other news, SVP Dominique Grau sold 9,990 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $145.00, for a total value of $1,448,550.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 40,011 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,801,595. The trade was a 19.98 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Padraig Mcdonnell sold 1,958 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 approximately $3,497,110. This trade represents a 7.51 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 11,995 shares of company stock worth $1,739,510 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

Agilent Technologies Stock Performance

NYSE A opened at $126.92 on Tuesday. Agilent Technologies, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $112.39 and a fifty-two week high of $155.35. The firm has a market capitalization of $36.47 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.33, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.59 and a beta of 1.07. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $138.50 and its two-hundred day moving average is $137.92. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a quick ratio of 1.37 and a current ratio of 1.78.

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

Agilent Technologies Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, October 23rd. Investors of record on Tuesday, October 1st were given a $0.236 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, October 1st. This represents a $0.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.74%. Agilent Technologies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 19.50%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have issued reports on the company. UBS Group boosted their target price on Agilent Technologies from $141.00 to $150.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 22nd. Citigroup upped their price objective on shares of Agilent Technologies from $150.00 to $165.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 22nd. Stifel Nicolaus reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $151.00 target price on shares of Agilent Technologies in a research note on Monday, August 26th. Barclays raised their price objective 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. Finally, TD Cowen boosted their target price on shares of Agilent Technologies from $153.00 to $160.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 22nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $144.36.

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.