Calamos Advisors LLC Sells 2,393 Shares of Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A)

Calamos Advisors LLC trimmed its holdings in shares of Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A) by 1.3% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 183,236 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 2,393 shares during the quarter. Calamos Advisors LLC’s holdings in Agilent Technologies were worth $25,475,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Money Concepts Capital Corp bought a new stake in Agilent Technologies during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. MV Capital Management Inc. grew its position in Agilent Technologies by 120.7% during the fourth quarter. MV Capital Management Inc. now owns 192 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 105 shares during the period. Ancora Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Agilent Technologies in the fourth quarter worth approximately $34,000. OFI Invest Asset Management bought a new position in shares of Agilent Technologies in the third quarter worth approximately $25,000. Finally, Baystate Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Agilent Technologies by 107.3% in the fourth quarter. Baystate Wealth Management LLC now owns 257 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 133 shares during the period.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the stock. UBS Group upped their price target on shares of Agilent Technologies from $130.00 to $155.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 28th. Oppenheimer upped their price target on shares of Agilent Technologies from $67.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 26th. Barclays upped their price target on shares of Agilent Technologies from $125.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 10th. Stifel Nicolaus upgraded shares of Agilent Technologies from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $145.00 to $163.00 in a research report on Friday, April 5th. Finally, Citigroup upped their price target on shares of Agilent Technologies from $130.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 28th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Agilent Technologies presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $141.29.

Insider Activity

In other news, 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $7,935,235.84. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In related news, SVP Philip Binns sold 2,827 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $147.54, for a total value of $417,095.58. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 9,997 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,474,957.38. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director Heidi Fields sold 1,658 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $144.34, for a total transaction of $239,315.72. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 54,976 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,935,235.84. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 61,610 shares of company stock valued at $9,220,333.

Agilent Technologies Price Performance

Agilent Technologies stock traded up $0.76 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $133.20. 158,400 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,569,591. The company has a market cap of $39.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.53, a PEG ratio of 4.07 and a beta of 1.11. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $141.19 and a two-hundred day moving average of $129.50. The company has a quick ratio of 2.04, a current ratio of 2.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41. Agilent Technologies, Inc. has a 12-month low of $96.80 and a 12-month high of $151.58.

Agilent Technologies (NYSE:A) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 27th. The medical research company reported $1.29 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.22 by $0.07. Agilent Technologies had a net margin of 18.35% and a return on equity of 27.09%. The company had revenue of $1.66 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.59 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.37 earnings per share. Agilent Technologies’s revenue was down 5.5% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts forecast that Agilent Technologies, Inc. will post 5.51 earnings per share for the current year.

Agilent Technologies Announces Dividend

The company 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 $0.236 dividend. This represents a $0.94 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.71%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, April 1st. Agilent Technologies’s dividend payout ratio is currently 22.38%.

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.