KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS Purchases New Holdings in Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A)

KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS bought a new stake in shares of Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund bought 100,849 shares of the medical research company's stock, valued at approximately $13,569,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of A. Mizuho Securities USA LLC raised its holdings in shares of Agilent Technologies by 43.9% in the fourth quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC now owns 27,232 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $3,658,000 after buying an additional 8,313 shares during the period. Quantbot Technologies LP purchased a new stake in Agilent Technologies in the fourth quarter worth $2,038,000. Lee Danner & Bass Inc. purchased a new stake in Agilent Technologies in the fourth quarter worth $29,000. Northwest & Ethical Investments L.P. lifted its position in shares of Agilent Technologies by 5.6% during the fourth quarter. Northwest & Ethical Investments L.P. now owns 338,019 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $45,409,000 after purchasing an additional 18,038 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Magnetar Financial LLC boosted its stake in shares of Agilent Technologies by 13.3% during the fourth quarter. Magnetar Financial LLC now owns 35,724 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $4,799,000 after purchasing an additional 4,197 shares during the period.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Agilent Technologies news, VP Rodney Gonsalves sold 1,908 shares of Agilent Technologies stock in a transaction on Monday, March 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $121.98, for a total value of $232,737.84. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 21,786 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,657,456.28. The trade was a 8.05 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Padraig Mcdonnell sold 1,911 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $150.00, for a total value of $286,650.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 39,652 shares in the company, valued at $5,947,800. This represents a 4.60 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here.

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Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Robert W. Baird decreased their price objective on shares of Agilent Technologies from $161.00 to $159.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 27th. Citigroup boosted their price target on Agilent Technologies to $165.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, December 19th. Barclays upgraded Agilent Technologies from an "underweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $135.00 to $145.00 in a report on Monday, February 10th. StockNews.com upgraded Agilent Technologies from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, December 24th. Finally, Bank of America dropped their target price on Agilent Technologies from $153.00 to $150.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Agilent Technologies presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $150.83.

Agilent Technologies Stock Performance

NYSE:A traded down $2.42 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $116.55. 1,772,856 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,768,077. The company's 50 day moving average price is $134.29 and its 200-day moving average price is $136.65. The stock has a market capitalization of $33.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.79, a PEG ratio of 3.37 and a beta of 1.11. Agilent Technologies, Inc. has a 52-week low of $116.38 and a 52-week high of $155.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56, a current ratio of 2.20 and a quick ratio of 1.66.

Agilent Technologies (NYSE:A - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 26th. The medical research company reported $1.31 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.27 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $1.68 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.67 billion. Agilent Technologies had a return on equity of 25.56% and a net margin of 19.27%. As a group, research analysts forecast that Agilent Technologies, Inc. will post 5.57 earnings per share for the current year.

Agilent Technologies Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 23rd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, April 1st will be paid a $0.248 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 1st. This represents a $0.99 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.85%. Agilent Technologies's payout ratio is currently 22.76%.

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.