Windward Capital Management Co. CA Lowers Stock Holdings in Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A)

Windward Capital Management Co. CA cut its holdings in Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A) by 12.2% in the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 4,337 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 604 shares during the quarter. Windward Capital Management Co. CA’s holdings in Agilent Technologies were worth $562,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in A. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Agilent Technologies by 18.2% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 29,884,345 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $4,348,471,000 after purchasing an additional 4,605,228 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Agilent Technologies in the 4th quarter valued at about $509,904,000. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its holdings in shares of Agilent Technologies by 19.6% during the 4th quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 13,246,489 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $1,841,659,000 after purchasing an additional 2,170,219 shares during the last quarter. Brown Advisory Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Agilent Technologies by 262.1% in the fourth quarter. Brown Advisory Inc. now owns 2,292,929 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $318,786,000 after purchasing an additional 1,659,768 shares during the period. Finally, Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its holdings in shares of Agilent Technologies by 13.9% during the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 8,542,054 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $1,242,956,000 after buying an additional 1,042,926 shares during the last quarter. 87.42% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Evercore ISI boosted their price objective on shares of Agilent Technologies from $130.00 to $135.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a report on Thursday, August 22nd. Citigroup upped their price objective on shares of Agilent Technologies from $150.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 22nd. Stifel Nicolaus reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $151.00 target price on shares of Agilent Technologies in a research report on Monday, August 26th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on Agilent Technologies from $165.00 to $155.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, May 30th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a “hold” rating and issued a $135.00 price objective (down from $152.00) on shares of Agilent Technologies in a research note on Monday, June 3rd. 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. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Agilent Technologies has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $141.60.

Insider Transactions at Agilent Technologies

In other news, SVP Dominique Grau sold 15,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $133.28, for a total transaction of $1,999,200.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 49,486 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,595,494.08. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In related news, SVP Dominique Grau sold 15,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, June 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $133.28, for a total value of $1,999,200.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 49,486 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,595,494.08. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Padraig Mcdonnell sold 1,958 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $145.00, for a total transaction of $283,910.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 24,118 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,497,110. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 18,916 shares of company stock valued at $2,557,230. 0.33% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Agilent Technologies Stock Down 0.8 %

A stock opened at $137.20 on Friday. Agilent Technologies, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $96.80 and a fifty-two week high of $155.35. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $135.62 and its 200 day moving average price is $139.06. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a quick ratio of 1.37 and a current ratio of 1.78. The firm has a market capitalization of $40.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.43, a PEG ratio of 6.63 and a beta of 1.05.

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

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.