Yousif Capital Management LLC Reduces Stock Holdings in Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A)

Yousif Capital Management LLC reduced its holdings in Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A) by 1.4% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 32,054 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 457 shares during the period. Yousif Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Agilent Technologies were worth $3,750,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Redwood Park Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Agilent Technologies during the fourth quarter worth $27,000. Lee Danner & Bass Inc. purchased a new stake in Agilent Technologies during the fourth quarter worth $29,000. Sunbelt Securities Inc. boosted its holdings in Agilent Technologies by 640.0% during the fourth quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. now owns 222 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 192 shares in the last quarter. Whipplewood Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Agilent Technologies by 286.2% during the first quarter. Whipplewood Advisors LLC now owns 251 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 186 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wood Tarver Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in Agilent Technologies during the fourth quarter worth $34,000.

Agilent Technologies Price Performance

Shares of NYSE A opened at $118.95 on Friday. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $108.98 and a 200-day simple moving average of $125.58. The stock has a market capitalization of $33.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.37, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.66 and a beta of 1.23. The company has a quick ratio of 1.60, a current ratio of 2.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55. Agilent Technologies, Inc. has a 52 week low of $96.43 and a 52 week high of $153.84.

Agilent Technologies (NYSE:A) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 28th. The medical research company reported $1.31 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.26 by $0.05. Agilent Technologies had a net margin of 17.59% and a return on equity of 25.92%. The firm had revenue of $1.67 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.63 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.22 earnings per share. Agilent Technologies’s revenue was up 6.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts predict that Agilent Technologies, Inc. will post 5.58 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Agilent Technologies Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 23rd. Investors of record on Tuesday, July 1st will be given a dividend of $0.248 per share. This represents a $0.99 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.83%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, July 1st. Agilent Technologies’s payout ratio is currently 24.44%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Daniel K. Podolsky sold 1,819 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $116.46, for a total value of $211,840.74. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 35,737 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,161,931.02. This trade represents a 4.84% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, VP Rodney Gonsalves sold 1,908 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $121.98, for a total transaction of $232,737.84. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 21,786 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,657,456.28. The trade was a 8.05% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on shares of Agilent Technologies from $160.00 to $155.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, May 29th. TD Cowen upped their price objective on shares of Agilent Technologies to $150.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 29th. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price objective on shares of Agilent Technologies from $135.00 to $116.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 21st. Barclays reduced their price objective on shares of Agilent Technologies from $138.00 to $115.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 10th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on shares of Agilent Technologies from $155.00 to $135.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Agilent Technologies presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $140.15.

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.