Procyon Advisors LLC Lowers Holdings in Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A)

Procyon Advisors LLC decreased its stake in Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A) by 3.8% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 5,339 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 209 shares during the quarter. Procyon Advisors LLC’s holdings in Agilent Technologies were worth $742,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Kepos Capital LP increased its holdings in shares of Agilent Technologies by 3.5% in the third quarter. Kepos Capital LP now owns 2,775 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $310,000 after purchasing an additional 93 shares during the last quarter. Ancora Advisors LLC increased its stake in Agilent Technologies by 41.1% during the first quarter. Ancora Advisors LLC now owns 326 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $45,000 after acquiring an additional 95 shares during the last quarter. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton boosted its position in shares of Agilent Technologies by 51.1% during the fourth quarter. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton now owns 284 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $39,000 after buying an additional 96 shares during the period. Ronald Blue Trust Inc. boosted its position in shares of Agilent Technologies by 8.1% during the third quarter. Ronald Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,336 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $161,000 after buying an additional 100 shares during the period. Finally, Invesco LLC boosted its position in shares of Agilent Technologies by 0.7% during the third quarter. Invesco LLC now owns 15,471 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $1,730,000 after buying an additional 101 shares during the period.

Insider Transactions at Agilent Technologies

In related news, Director Heidi Fields sold 1,658 shares of the company’s 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 owns 54,976 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,935,235.84. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other Agilent Technologies news, VP Rodney Gonsalves sold 4,828 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $149.00, for a total transaction of $719,372.00. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 21,329 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,178,021. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director Heidi Fields sold 1,658 shares of the 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 sale, the director now owns 54,976 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,935,235.84. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 61,610 shares of company stock valued at $9,220,333.

Agilent Technologies Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE A traded down $0.85 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $146.52. The stock had a trading volume of 168,027 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,619,804. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $137.60 and a 200-day moving average of $126.13. The company has a current ratio of 2.68, a quick ratio of 2.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41. The firm has a market cap of $42.94 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.10, a PEG ratio of 4.37 and a beta of 1.11. Agilent Technologies, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $96.80 and a fifty-two week high of $151.58.

Agilent Technologies (NYSE:A) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 27th. The medical research company reported $1.29 EPS 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 the consensus estimate of $1.59 billion. Agilent Technologies had a return on equity of 27.09% and a net margin of 18.35%. The firm’s revenue was down 5.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.37 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that Agilent Technologies, Inc. will post 5.51 earnings per share for the current year.

Agilent Technologies Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 24th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, April 2nd will be paid a dividend of $0.236 per share. This represents a $0.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.64%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, April 1st. Agilent Technologies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 22.38%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently commented on the company. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price target on Agilent Technologies from $128.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 7th. Bank of America lowered Agilent Technologies from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $130.00 to $133.00 in a report on Tuesday, December 12th. Citigroup lifted their target price on Agilent Technologies from $130.00 to $145.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 28th. Oppenheimer lifted their target price on Agilent Technologies from $67.00 to $90.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday. Finally, Wolfe Research started coverage on Agilent Technologies in a research report on Wednesday, December 13th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $140.00 price objective for the company. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Agilent Technologies presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $138.29.

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.