Prentiss Smith & Co. Inc. Sells 13,632 Shares of Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A)

Prentiss Smith & Co. Inc. reduced its holdings in Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A) by 31.7% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 29,384 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 13,632 shares during the period. Agilent Technologies accounts for approximately 3.0% of Prentiss Smith & Co. Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 14th largest position. Prentiss Smith & Co. Inc.’s holdings in Agilent Technologies were worth $4,085,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. OFI Invest Asset Management acquired a new position in shares of Agilent Technologies in the third quarter valued at $25,000. MV Capital Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Agilent Technologies by 120.7% in the fourth quarter. MV Capital Management Inc. now owns 192 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 105 shares in the last quarter. Baystate Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Agilent Technologies by 107.3% in the fourth quarter. Baystate Wealth Management LLC now owns 257 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 133 shares in the last quarter. Column Capital Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Agilent Technologies by 1,111.1% in the third quarter. Column Capital Advisors LLC now owns 327 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $37,000 after purchasing an additional 300 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton grew its position in Agilent Technologies by 51.1% in the fourth quarter. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton now owns 284 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $39,000 after acquiring an additional 96 shares during the period.

Insider Transactions at Agilent Technologies

In other news, SVP Philip Binns sold 2,827 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $147.54, for a total transaction of $417,095.58. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 9,997 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,474,957.38. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In related news, SVP Philip Binns sold 2,827 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $147.54, for a total transaction of $417,095.58. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 9,997 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,474,957.38. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Michael R. Mcmullen sold 52,297 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $150.00, for a total value of $7,844,550.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 253,909 shares in the company, valued at approximately $38,086,350. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 61,610 shares of company stock valued at $9,220,333.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have weighed in on the company. Oppenheimer upped their price target on Agilent Technologies from $67.00 to $90.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 26th. Stifel Nicolaus upgraded Agilent Technologies from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $145.00 to $163.00 in a report on Friday, April 5th. Citigroup increased their target price on Agilent Technologies from $130.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 28th. Evercore ISI increased their target price on Agilent Technologies from $132.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a report on Thursday, April 4th. Finally, Barclays increased their target price on Agilent Technologies from $125.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $141.29.

Agilent Technologies Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE A traded down $1.14 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $136.35. 940,756 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,572,401. The firm has a market capitalization of $39.96 billion, a PE ratio of 32.46, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.22 and a beta of 1.11. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $141.53 and its 200 day moving average price is $130.38. The company has a quick ratio of 2.04, a current ratio of 2.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41. Agilent Technologies, Inc. has a 12 month low of $96.80 and a 12 month high of $151.58.

Agilent Technologies (NYSE:A) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 27th. The medical research company reported $1.29 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.22 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $1.66 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.59 billion. Agilent Technologies had a return on equity of 27.09% and a net margin of 18.35%. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 5.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.37 EPS. As a group, analysts predict that Agilent Technologies, Inc. will post 5.5 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Agilent Technologies Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 24th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, April 2nd were issued a $0.236 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, April 1st. This represents a $0.94 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.69%. Agilent Technologies’s dividend payout ratio is presently 22.38%.

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.