Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. Raises Holdings in Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A)

Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. increased its position in Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A) by 1.5% during the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 45,931 shares of the medical research company’s stock after buying an additional 658 shares during the period. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Agilent Technologies were worth $6,820,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Agilent Technologies by 1.5% in the 3rd quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 663,767 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $98,556,000 after buying an additional 9,703 shares during the last quarter. GSA Capital Partners LLP purchased a new position in Agilent Technologies in the third quarter worth about $499,000. Entropy Technologies LP bought a new stake in Agilent Technologies during the third quarter worth approximately $3,114,000. Apollon Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Agilent Technologies during the third quarter valued at approximately $280,000. Finally, Versor Investments LP bought a new stake in shares of Agilent Technologies in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $1,269,000. 87.42% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In related news, SVP Dominique Grau sold 9,990 shares of the company’s 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 transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 40,011 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,801,595. This represents a 19.98 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Padraig Mcdonnell sold 1,958 shares of Agilent Technologies stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $145.00, for a total value of $283,910.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 24,118 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,497,110. This represents a 7.51 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 11,995 shares of company stock worth $1,739,510. Insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts recently weighed in on A shares. Wells Fargo & Company started coverage on Agilent Technologies in a report on Tuesday, August 27th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $157.00 price target on the stock. TD Cowen upped their price target on shares of Agilent Technologies from $153.00 to $160.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 22nd. UBS Group raised their price objective on shares of Agilent Technologies from $141.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 22nd. Bank of America increased their price target on Agilent Technologies from $140.00 to $147.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, August 22nd. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $151.00 price objective on shares of Agilent Technologies in a research report on Monday, August 26th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Agilent Technologies currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $144.36.

Agilent Technologies Trading Down 3.0 %

Shares of NYSE:A opened at $130.22 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $37.42 billion, a PE ratio of 27.02, a P/E/G ratio of 5.88 and a beta of 1.07. The company has a current ratio of 1.78, a quick ratio of 1.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36. Agilent Technologies, Inc. has a 12-month low of $111.33 and a 12-month high of $155.35. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $139.09 and its 200-day simple moving average is $138.14.

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

Agilent Technologies Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, October 23rd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, October 1st were given a dividend of $0.236 per share. This represents a $0.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.72%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, October 1st. Agilent Technologies’s payout ratio is presently 19.50%.

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.