LGT Capital Partners LTD. Has $117.38 Million Position in Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A)

LGT Capital Partners LTD. cut its holdings in shares of Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A) by 24.4% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 790,570 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 254,858 shares during the period. Agilent Technologies makes up 4.1% of LGT Capital Partners LTD.’s portfolio, making the stock its 7th biggest position. LGT Capital Partners LTD.’s holdings in Agilent Technologies were worth $117,384,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in A. Livelsberger Financial Advisory bought a new position in shares of Agilent Technologies during the 3rd quarter valued at $28,000. Crewe Advisors LLC increased its position in Agilent Technologies by 114.8% during 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. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC bought a new position in Agilent Technologies in the third quarter valued at about $31,000. Ridgewood Investments LLC purchased a new position in Agilent Technologies in the second quarter worth about $29,000. Finally, Fortitude Family Office LLC grew its stake in shares of Agilent Technologies by 68.3% during the 3rd 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.

Agilent Technologies Price Performance

A stock opened at $126.92 on Tuesday. Agilent Technologies, Inc. has a 52 week low of $112.39 and a 52 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 company has a fifty day simple moving average of $138.50 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $137.92. The company has a quick ratio of 1.37, a current ratio of 1.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36.

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, topping the consensus estimate of $1.26 by $0.06. Agilent Technologies had a return on equity of 25.26% and a net margin of 21.75%. The company had revenue of $1.58 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.56 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.43 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was down 5.6% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts anticipate that Agilent Technologies, Inc. will post 5.24 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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 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 is presently 19.50%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company started coverage on shares of Agilent Technologies in a research report on Tuesday, August 27th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $157.00 price objective for the company. Evercore ISI raised their price objective on Agilent Technologies from $135.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 1st. UBS Group boosted their price objective on Agilent Technologies from $141.00 to $150.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 22nd. Bank of America increased their target price on shares of Agilent Technologies from $140.00 to $147.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, August 22nd. Finally, Citigroup upped their price target 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. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $144.36.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Padraig Mcdonnell sold 1,958 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 22nd. The stock was 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 in the company, valued at $3,497,110. The trade was a 7.51 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, 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 value of $1,448,550.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 40,011 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,801,595. The trade was a 19.98 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 11,995 shares of company stock worth $1,739,510 over the last three months.

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.