Cambridge Trust Co. Raises Stock Position in Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A)

Cambridge Trust Co. raised its stake in Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A) by 89.2% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 105,569 shares of the medical research company’s stock after buying an additional 49,761 shares during the period. Cambridge Trust Co.’s holdings in Agilent Technologies were worth $14,677,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. OFI Invest Asset Management purchased a new stake in Agilent Technologies in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $25,000. Money Concepts Capital Corp purchased a new stake in Agilent Technologies in the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. MV Capital Management Inc. grew its stake in Agilent Technologies by 120.7% in the 4th quarter. MV Capital Management Inc. now owns 192 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 105 shares during the period. Ancora Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Agilent Technologies in the 4th quarter worth approximately $34,000. Finally, Baystate Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in Agilent Technologies by 107.3% in the 4th quarter. Baystate Wealth Management LLC now owns 257 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $36,000 after acquiring an additional 133 shares during the period.

Agilent Technologies Price Performance

NYSE:A traded down $2.24 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $132.31. 1,191,383 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,578,407. The company has a market capitalization of $38.77 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.50, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.14 and a beta of 1.11. Agilent Technologies, Inc. has a 12 month low of $96.80 and a 12 month high of $151.58. The company has a quick ratio of 2.04, a current ratio of 2.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $141.22 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $129.48.

Agilent Technologies (NYSE:A) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, February 27th. The medical research company reported $1.29 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.22 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $1.66 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.59 billion. Agilent Technologies had a net margin of 18.35% and a return on equity of 27.09%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 5.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.37 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts expect that Agilent Technologies, Inc. will post 5.51 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Agilent Technologies Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 24th. Investors of record on Tuesday, April 2nd will be issued a dividend of $0.236 per share. This represents a $0.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.71%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, April 1st. Agilent Technologies’s payout ratio is 22.38%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on A shares. Citigroup lifted 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. Evercore ISI lifted their price target on shares of Agilent Technologies from $132.00 to $145.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a report on Thursday, April 4th. Stifel Nicolaus upgraded shares of Agilent Technologies from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $145.00 to $163.00 in a report on Friday, April 5th. Oppenheimer lifted their price target on shares of Agilent Technologies from $67.00 to $90.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 26th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of Agilent Technologies from $140.00 to $165.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 20th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $141.29.

Insider Activity at Agilent Technologies

In related news, Director Heidi Fields sold 1,658 shares of the firm’s 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 transaction, the director now directly owns 54,976 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,935,235.84. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In other Agilent Technologies news, Director Heidi Fields sold 1,658 shares of the firm’s 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 directly owns 54,976 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,935,235.84. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, VP Rodney Gonsalves sold 4,828 shares of the firm’s 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 completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 21,329 shares in the company, valued at $3,178,021. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 61,610 shares of company stock worth $9,220,333.

About Agilent Technologies

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.