Prentiss Smith & Co. Inc. Has $4.09 Million Stock Position in Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A)

Prentiss Smith & Co. Inc. lessened its position in Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A) by 31.7% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. 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 about 3.0% of Prentiss Smith & Co. Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 14th biggest holding. Prentiss Smith & Co. Inc.’s holdings in Agilent Technologies were worth $4,085,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. MV Capital Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Agilent Technologies by 120.7% during the 4th 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. OFI Invest Asset Management bought a new position in Agilent Technologies in the third quarter worth approximately $25,000. Baystate Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in Agilent Technologies by 107.3% in the fourth quarter. Baystate Wealth Management LLC now owns 257 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $36,000 after acquiring an additional 133 shares in the last quarter. Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Agilent Technologies in the fourth quarter worth approximately $39,000. Finally, Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton raised its stake in shares of Agilent Technologies by 51.1% in the fourth quarter. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton now owns 284 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $39,000 after purchasing an additional 96 shares during the last quarter.

Insider Transactions at Agilent Technologies

In related news, Director Heidi Fields sold 1,658 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $144.34, for a total transaction of $239,315.72. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 54,976 shares in the company, valued at $7,935,235.84. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In related news, Director Heidi Fields sold 1,658 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $144.34, for a total transaction of $239,315.72. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 54,976 shares in the company, valued at $7,935,235.84. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, SVP Philip Binns sold 2,827 shares of Agilent Technologies stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $147.54, for a total transaction of $417,095.58. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 9,997 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,474,957.38. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 61,610 shares of company stock worth $9,220,333 over the last three months.

Agilent Technologies Stock Down 0.8 %

NYSE A traded down $1.14 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $136.35. 940,756 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,572,401. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41, a current ratio of 2.68 and a quick ratio of 2.04. The firm has a market cap of $39.96 billion, a PE ratio of 32.46, a PEG ratio of 4.22 and a beta of 1.11. Agilent Technologies, Inc. has a 52-week low of $96.80 and a 52-week high of $151.58. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $141.53 and a 200 day simple moving average of $130.38.

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

Agilent Technologies Announces Dividend

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have weighed in on A. Citigroup boosted their target price on shares of Agilent Technologies from $130.00 to $145.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 28th. Barclays boosted their price target on shares of Agilent Technologies from $125.00 to $135.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 10th. Stifel Nicolaus raised shares of Agilent Technologies from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $145.00 to $163.00 in a research report on Friday, April 5th. Evercore ISI upped their price target on Agilent Technologies from $132.00 to $145.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 4th. Finally, UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of Agilent Technologies from $130.00 to $155.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 28th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Agilent Technologies presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $141.29.

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.