First Bank & Trust Buys Shares of 1,352 Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A)

First Bank & Trust acquired a new position in shares of Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A) in the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund acquired 1,352 shares of the medical research company’s stock, valued at approximately $201,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in 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 acquiring an additional 4,605,228 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its stake in shares of Agilent Technologies by 5.7% in the second quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 15,064,660 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $1,952,832,000 after acquiring an additional 809,149 shares in the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its holdings in shares of Agilent Technologies by 13.9% during the first 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 purchasing an additional 1,042,926 shares during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp boosted its stake in shares of Agilent Technologies by 0.7% in the second quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 2,793,189 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $362,081,000 after buying an additional 18,205 shares during the period. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB lifted its position in shares of Agilent Technologies by 4.4% during the 1st quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 2,783,238 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $406,715,000 after acquiring an additional 116,822 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.42% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Padraig Mcdonnell sold 1,958 shares of the company’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 transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 24,118 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,497,110. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, CEO Padraig Mcdonnell sold 1,958 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $145.00, for a total transaction of $283,910.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 24,118 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,497,110. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Dominique Grau sold 9,990 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the senior vice president now owns 40,011 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,801,595. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 11,995 shares of company stock valued at $1,739,510. Company insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

Agilent Technologies Price Performance

A opened at $130.19 on Friday. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $140.53 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $138.37. The company has a market capitalization of $37.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.78, a P/E/G ratio of 6.96 and a beta of 1.05. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a current ratio of 1.78 and a quick ratio of 1.37. Agilent Technologies, Inc. has a 1 year low of $96.80 and a 1 year high of $155.35.

Agilent Technologies (NYSE:A) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 21st. The medical research company reported $1.32 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.26 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $1.58 billion during 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 for the quarter was down 5.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.43 EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that Agilent Technologies, Inc. will post 5.24 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, October 23rd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, October 1st were given a $0.236 dividend. This represents a $0.94 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.73%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, October 1st. Agilent Technologies’s dividend payout ratio is 22.22%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. UBS Group raised their target price on Agilent Technologies from $141.00 to $150.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, August 22nd. Evercore ISI lifted their price target on shares of Agilent Technologies from $135.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 1st. Bank of America upped their price target on shares of Agilent Technologies from $140.00 to $147.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company started coverage on shares of Agilent Technologies in a research note on Tuesday, August 27th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $157.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Citigroup upped their price objective on shares of Agilent Technologies from $150.00 to $165.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 22nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $144.36.

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.