Delta Investment Management LLC Takes $227,000 Position in Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A)

Delta Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A) in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm purchased 1,633 shares of the medical research company’s stock, valued at approximately $227,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the business. Gotham Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in Agilent Technologies by 246.7% during the 3rd quarter. Gotham Asset Management LLC now owns 54,437 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $6,087,000 after purchasing an additional 38,737 shares during the period. DAVENPORT & Co LLC boosted its stake in Agilent Technologies by 77.7% during the 4th quarter. DAVENPORT & Co LLC now owns 4,882 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $679,000 after purchasing an additional 2,135 shares during the period. Stifel Financial Corp boosted its stake in Agilent Technologies by 259.9% during the 3rd quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 119,582 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $13,375,000 after purchasing an additional 86,355 shares during the period. Natixis Advisors L.P. boosted its stake in Agilent Technologies by 20.9% during the 3rd quarter. Natixis Advisors L.P. now owns 64,155 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $7,174,000 after purchasing an additional 11,075 shares during the period. Finally, Northwest Investment Counselors LLC boosted its stake in Agilent Technologies by 137.3% during the 4th quarter. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC now owns 23,076 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $3,208,000 after purchasing an additional 13,352 shares during the period.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, SVP Philip Binns sold 2,827 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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 sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. 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. Also, SVP Philip Binns sold 2,827 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $147.54, for a total transaction of $417,095.58. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 9,997 shares in the company, valued at $1,474,957.38. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 61,610 shares of company stock valued at $9,220,333 over the last ninety days.

Agilent Technologies Stock Up 1.0 %

A traded up $1.37 on Friday, reaching $137.74. 754,945 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,245,651. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $141.59 and its 200-day moving average price is $130.56. Agilent Technologies, Inc. has a 52-week low of $96.80 and a 52-week high of $151.58. The company has a market cap of $40.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.78, a PEG ratio of 4.13 and a beta of 1.11. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41, a current ratio of 2.68 and a quick ratio of 2.04.

Agilent Technologies (NYSE:A) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 the consensus estimate of $1.59 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.37 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was down 5.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Agilent Technologies, Inc. will post 5.5 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Agilent Technologies Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 24th. Investors 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 yield of 0.69%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, April 1st. Agilent Technologies’s payout ratio is presently 22.38%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have commented on the stock. Barclays boosted 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 boosted their price target for the stock from $145.00 to $163.00 in a research report on Friday, April 5th. UBS Group boosted 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 boosted 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. Finally, Evercore ISI boosted their price target on shares of Agilent Technologies from $132.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 4th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Agilent Technologies currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $141.29.

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.