Kentucky Retirement Systems Lowers Position in Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A)

Kentucky Retirement Systems cut its stake in shares of Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A) by 8.0% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 20,326 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 1,758 shares during the period. Kentucky Retirement Systems’ holdings in Agilent Technologies were worth $3,018,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Western Pacific Wealth Management LP increased its position in shares of Agilent Technologies by 18.9% during the first quarter. Western Pacific Wealth Management LP now owns 440 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $64,000 after acquiring an additional 70 shares during the last quarter. Menard Financial Group LLC increased its position in shares of Agilent Technologies by 1.6% during the 2nd 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 last quarter. McAdam LLC raised its stake in shares of Agilent Technologies by 3.1% during the 3rd quarter. McAdam LLC now owns 2,531 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $376,000 after purchasing an additional 77 shares during the period. Global Retirement Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Agilent Technologies by 3.2% in the 3rd quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 2,570 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $382,000 after buying an additional 79 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Rovin Capital UT ADV grew its position in Agilent Technologies by 1.6% during the third quarter. Rovin Capital UT ADV now owns 5,049 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $750,000 after buying an additional 81 shares during the period.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have commented on the stock. Citigroup lifted their price objective on shares of Agilent Technologies from $150.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company initiated coverage on Agilent Technologies in a research note on Tuesday, August 27th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $157.00 price objective on the stock. Evercore ISI raised their target price on Agilent Technologies from $135.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 1st. Barclays boosted their target price on Agilent Technologies from $135.00 to $145.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 15th. Finally, Bank of America lifted their price objective on Agilent Technologies from $140.00 to $147.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, August 22nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $144.36.

Insider Activity

In other Agilent Technologies news, CEO Padraig Mcdonnell sold 1,958 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $145.00, for a total transaction of $283,910.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 24,118 shares in the company, valued at $3,497,110. This trade represents a 7.51 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, SVP Dominique Grau sold 9,990 shares of the company’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 transaction, the senior vice president now owns 40,011 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,801,595. The trade was a 19.98 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 11,995 shares of company stock worth $1,739,510.

Agilent Technologies Price Performance

A stock opened at $127.07 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $138.73 and a 200-day moving average of $138.00. The company has a current ratio of 1.78, a quick ratio of 1.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36. The firm has a market capitalization of $36.51 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.36, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.91 and a beta of 1.07. Agilent Technologies, Inc. has a 12 month low of $112.06 and a 12 month high of $155.35.

Agilent Technologies (NYSE:A) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 21st. The medical research company reported $1.32 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 firm had revenue of $1.58 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.56 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.43 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 5.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Agilent Technologies, Inc. will post 5.24 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Agilent Technologies Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, October 23rd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, October 1st were issued a $0.236 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, October 1st. This represents a $0.94 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.74%. Agilent Technologies’s payout ratio is currently 19.50%.

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.