Suncoast Equity Management Trims Holdings in Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A)

Suncoast Equity Management trimmed its position in Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A) by 3.1% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,630 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 85 shares during the quarter. Suncoast Equity Management’s holdings in Agilent Technologies were worth $366,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. OFI Invest Asset Management purchased a new stake in Agilent Technologies during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Money Concepts Capital Corp purchased a new stake in Agilent Technologies during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $26,000. MV Capital Management Inc. grew its holdings in 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 buying an additional 105 shares in the last quarter. Ancora Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Agilent Technologies during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Finally, Baystate Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in Agilent Technologies by 107.3% during the 4th quarter. Baystate Wealth Management LLC now owns 257 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $36,000 after buying an additional 133 shares in the last quarter.

Agilent Technologies Stock Performance

Shares of Agilent Technologies stock traded down $2.37 on Tuesday, reaching $137.85. 554,951 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,566,254. 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 twelve month low of $96.80 and a twelve month high of $151.58. The firm has a market capitalization of $40.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.39, a PEG ratio of 4.26 and a beta of 1.11. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $141.17 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $129.27.

Agilent Technologies (NYSE:A) last announced its quarterly earnings results 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 analyst estimates of $1.59 billion. Agilent Technologies had a return on equity of 27.09% and a net margin of 18.35%. Agilent Technologies’s revenue for the quarter was down 5.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.37 EPS. Analysts anticipate that Agilent Technologies, Inc. will post 5.51 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Agilent Technologies Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 24th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, April 2nd will be paid a $0.236 dividend. This represents a $0.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.68%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, April 1st. Agilent Technologies’s dividend payout ratio is presently 22.38%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus raised shares of Agilent Technologies from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their target price for the company from $145.00 to $163.00 in a report on Friday, April 5th. Citigroup raised their price target on Agilent Technologies from $130.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 28th. StockNews.com upgraded Agilent Technologies from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 19th. Oppenheimer raised their price target on Agilent Technologies from $67.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 26th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on Agilent Technologies from $140.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 20th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $141.29.

Insider Transactions at Agilent Technologies

In other news, Director Heidi Fields sold 1,658 shares of Agilent Technologies stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $144.34, for a total value of $239,315.72. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 54,976 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,935,235.84. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other news, VP Rodney Gonsalves sold 4,828 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $149.00, for a total value of $719,372.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 21,329 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,178,021. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Heidi Fields sold 1,658 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $144.34, for a total value of $239,315.72. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 54,976 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,935,235.84. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 61,610 shares of company stock valued at $9,220,333 over the last ninety days.

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.