Saturna Capital Corp Lowers Stock Position in Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A)

Saturna Capital Corp cut its stake in shares of Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A) by 17.6% in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 735,744 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 157,392 shares during the period. Agilent Technologies comprises about 1.3% of Saturna Capital Corp’s holdings, making the stock its 28th biggest holding. Saturna Capital Corp’s holdings in Agilent Technologies were worth $86,067,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Retirement Planning Co of New England Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Agilent Technologies in the first quarter valued at about $324,000. Bailard Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Agilent Technologies by 6.6% in the first quarter. Bailard Inc. now owns 2,631 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $308,000 after purchasing an additional 163 shares during the period. Larson Financial Group LLC boosted its stake in shares of Agilent Technologies by 35.0% in the first quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 5,991 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $701,000 after purchasing an additional 1,554 shares during the period. Wealthfront Advisers LLC boosted its stake in shares of Agilent Technologies by 1.4% in the first quarter. Wealthfront Advisers LLC now owns 17,364 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $2,031,000 after purchasing an additional 233 shares during the period. Finally, OVERSEA CHINESE BANKING Corp Ltd lifted its stake in Agilent Technologies by 134.8% in the first quarter. OVERSEA CHINESE BANKING Corp Ltd now owns 624,576 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $73,063,000 after acquiring an additional 358,622 shares during the last quarter.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on A. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on shares of Agilent Technologies from $155.00 to $135.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. Barclays lifted their target price on shares of Agilent Technologies from $115.00 to $125.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 24th. TD Cowen lifted their target price on shares of Agilent Technologies to $150.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, May 29th. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price objective on shares of Agilent Technologies from $135.00 to $116.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 21st. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Agilent Technologies from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, June 28th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Agilent Technologies presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $139.77.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Padraig Mcdonnell sold 1,508 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $117.44, for a total value of $177,099.52. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 37,448 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,397,893.12. This trade represents a 3.87% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link.

Agilent Technologies Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE A opened at $116.42 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $33.07 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.75, a P/E/G ratio of 3.44 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 12 month low of $96.43 and a 12 month high of $153.84. The business’s 50 day moving average is $115.90 and its two-hundred day moving average is $122.30.

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

Agilent Technologies Dividend Announcement

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 issued a dividend of $0.248 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, July 1st. This represents a $0.99 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.85%. Agilent Technologies’s payout ratio is presently 24.44%.

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.