Clifford Swan Investment Counsel LLC Has $21.19 Million Stake in Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A)

Clifford Swan Investment Counsel LLC cut its stake in Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A) by 0.1% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 152,418 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 132 shares during the quarter. Clifford Swan Investment Counsel LLC owned 0.05% of Agilent Technologies worth $21,191,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC boosted its position in Agilent Technologies by 0.9% in the third quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 33,586 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $3,756,000 after purchasing an additional 313 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. increased its stake in shares of Agilent Technologies by 19.5% during the 3rd quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. now owns 49,413 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $5,525,000 after purchasing an additional 8,063 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its holdings in shares of Agilent Technologies by 4.9% in the 3rd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 2,677,277 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $299,373,000 after purchasing an additional 124,671 shares during the period. Bailard Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Agilent Technologies by 45.6% in the 3rd quarter. Bailard Inc. now owns 2,553 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $285,000 after purchasing an additional 799 shares during the period. Finally, Mn Services Vermogensbeheer B.V. lifted its position in shares of Agilent Technologies by 2.5% during the 3rd quarter. Mn Services Vermogensbeheer B.V. now owns 144,375 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $16,144,000 after buying an additional 3,500 shares during the last quarter.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. UBS Group increased their price objective on Agilent Technologies from $130.00 to $155.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 28th. Citigroup raised their price target on shares of Agilent Technologies from $130.00 to $145.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 28th. Stifel Nicolaus upgraded Agilent Technologies from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $145.00 to $163.00 in a research report on Friday, April 5th. Oppenheimer increased their price target on shares of Agilent Technologies from $67.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 26th. Finally, Evercore ISI increased their price objective on Agilent Technologies from $132.00 to $145.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 4th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $141.29.

Insider Buying and Selling at Agilent Technologies

In other Agilent Technologies news, VP Rodney Gonsalves sold 4,828 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 7th. The shares were 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 transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In related news, VP Rodney Gonsalves sold 4,828 shares of Agilent Technologies stock in a transaction that occurred 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,178,021. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Heidi Fields sold 1,658 shares of Agilent Technologies stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 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 sold 61,610 shares of company stock valued at $9,220,333.

Agilent Technologies Stock Up 1.4 %

A stock traded up $1.93 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $139.45. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,097,922 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,239,688. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $142.07 and its 200-day moving average is $131.79. The company has a current ratio of 2.68, a quick ratio of 2.04 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. The company has a market cap of $40.87 billion, a PE ratio of 33.20, a P/E/G ratio of 4.22 and a beta of 1.13.

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

Agilent Technologies Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 24th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, April 2nd were given a dividend of $0.236 per share. This represents a $0.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.68%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, April 1st. Agilent Technologies’s payout ratio is 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.