Kentucky Retirement Systems Has $3.02 Million Stock Holdings in Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A)

Kentucky Retirement Systems lowered its holdings in shares of Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A) by 8.0% in the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 20,326 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 1,758 shares during the period. Kentucky Retirement Systems’ holdings in Agilent Technologies were worth $3,018,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. Archer Investment Corp acquired a new position in Agilent Technologies during the third quarter worth about $288,000. Empowered Funds LLC grew its holdings in shares of Agilent Technologies by 29.8% during the 3rd quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 30,978 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $4,592,000 after purchasing an additional 7,111 shares during the last quarter. Empirical Finance LLC increased its position in Agilent Technologies by 2.0% during the 3rd quarter. Empirical Finance LLC now owns 10,231 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $1,519,000 after purchasing an additional 196 shares in the last quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc lifted its stake in Agilent Technologies by 7.9% in the 3rd quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 43,158 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $6,408,000 after purchasing an additional 3,152 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc. boosted its position in Agilent Technologies by 14.8% in the third quarter. Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc. now owns 10,040 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $1,491,000 after buying an additional 1,294 shares in the last quarter.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on A. Wells Fargo & Company initiated coverage on shares of Agilent Technologies in a report on Tuesday, August 27th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $157.00 price target for the company. Evercore ISI upped their target price on 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 lifted their price target on Agilent Technologies from $140.00 to $147.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 22nd. UBS Group boosted their price target on Agilent Technologies from $141.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, August 22nd. Finally, Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Agilent Technologies from $135.00 to $145.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 15th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $144.36.

Agilent Technologies Price Performance

Shares of NYSE A opened at $127.07 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $36.51 billion, a PE ratio of 26.36, a P/E/G ratio of 5.91 and a beta of 1.07. 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, Inc. has a twelve month low of $112.06 and a twelve month high of $155.35. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $138.73 and a 200 day simple moving average of $138.00.

Agilent Technologies (NYSE:A) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 21st. The medical research company reported $1.32 earnings per share 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 firm had revenue of $1.58 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.56 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.43 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 5.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Agilent Technologies, Inc. will post 5.24 EPS for the current year.

Agilent Technologies Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, October 23rd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, October 1st were paid a $0.236 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, October 1st. This represents a $0.94 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.74%. Agilent Technologies’s dividend payout ratio is currently 19.50%.

Insider Activity at Agilent Technologies

In other Agilent Technologies news, CEO Padraig Mcdonnell sold 1,958 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $145.00, for a total transaction of $283,910.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 24,118 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,497,110. The trade was a 7.51 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, SVP Dominique Grau sold 9,990 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $145.00, for a total transaction of $1,448,550.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 40,011 shares in the company, valued at $5,801,595. This trade represents a 19.98 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 11,995 shares of company stock worth $1,739,510 in the last quarter.

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.