Spire Wealth Management Purchases 14,966 Shares of Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A)

Spire Wealth Management grew its position in Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A) by 43.9% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 49,036 shares of the medical research company’s stock after purchasing an additional 14,966 shares during the period. Spire Wealth Management’s holdings in Agilent Technologies were worth $6,435,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Gotham Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in Agilent Technologies by 246.7% during the third quarter. Gotham Asset Management LLC now owns 54,437 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $6,087,000 after buying an additional 38,737 shares during the last quarter. DAVENPORT & Co LLC increased its stake in shares of Agilent Technologies by 77.7% in the fourth quarter. DAVENPORT & Co LLC now owns 4,882 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $679,000 after purchasing an additional 2,135 shares in the last quarter. Stifel Financial Corp increased its stake in shares of Agilent Technologies by 259.9% in the third quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 119,582 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $13,375,000 after purchasing an additional 86,355 shares in the last quarter. Natixis Advisors L.P. increased its stake in shares of Agilent Technologies by 20.9% in the third quarter. Natixis Advisors L.P. now owns 64,155 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $7,174,000 after purchasing an additional 11,075 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Northwest Investment Counselors LLC increased its stake in shares of Agilent Technologies by 137.3% in the fourth quarter. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC now owns 23,076 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $3,208,000 after purchasing an additional 13,352 shares in the last quarter.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on A shares. Barclays lifted their target price on shares of Agilent Technologies from $125.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. UBS Group raised their price objective on shares of Agilent Technologies from $130.00 to $155.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 28th. Evercore ISI raised their price objective on shares of Agilent Technologies from $132.00 to $145.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 4th. Citigroup raised their price objective on shares of Agilent Technologies from $130.00 to $145.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 28th. Finally, Oppenheimer raised their price objective on shares of Agilent Technologies from $67.00 to $90.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 26th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Agilent Technologies presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $141.29.

Insider Buying and Selling

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

Agilent Technologies Trading Up 0.8 %

Agilent Technologies stock traded up $1.16 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $140.61. 1,639,410 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,530,458. Agilent Technologies, Inc. has a 52-week low of $96.80 and a 52-week high of $151.58. The firm has a market capitalization of $41.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.20, a P/E/G ratio of 4.22 and a beta of 1.13. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41, a current ratio of 2.68 and a quick ratio of 2.04. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $142.07 and its 200 day moving average price is $131.79.

Agilent Technologies (NYSE:A) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, February 27th. The medical research company reported $1.29 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 firm had revenue of $1.66 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.59 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.37 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 5.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts anticipate that Agilent Technologies, Inc. will post 5.5 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Agilent Technologies Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 24th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, April 2nd were issued a dividend of $0.236 per share. This represents a $0.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.67%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, April 1st. Agilent Technologies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 22.38%.

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.