Prudential PLC Increases Stock Holdings in Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A)

Prudential PLC boosted its position in Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A - Free Report) by 16.0% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 73,273 shares of the medical research company's stock after purchasing an additional 10,128 shares during the period. Prudential PLC's holdings in Agilent Technologies were worth $9,843,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of A. CKW Financial Group increased its position in shares of Agilent Technologies by 114.9% during the fourth quarter. CKW Financial Group now owns 187 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 100 shares during the period. Global X Japan Co. Ltd. grew its position in Agilent Technologies by 161.1% during the fourth quarter. Global X Japan Co. Ltd. now owns 188 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 116 shares during the last quarter. Lee Danner & Bass Inc. bought a new stake in Agilent Technologies in the fourth quarter worth $29,000. Hanson & Doremus Investment Management grew its position in Agilent Technologies by 66.5% during the 4th quarter. Hanson & Doremus Investment Management now owns 263 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $35,000 after acquiring an additional 105 shares during the last quarter. Finally, OFI Invest Asset Management purchased a new stake in Agilent Technologies during the 4th quarter valued at $37,000.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Daniel K. Podolsky sold 1,819 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $116.46, for a total transaction of $211,840.74. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 35,737 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,161,931.02. This represents a 4.84 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Padraig Mcdonnell sold 1,911 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $150.00, for a total transaction of $286,650.00. Following the completion of the sale, 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. Insiders have sold a total of 5,638 shares of company stock worth $731,229 over the last quarter.

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Agilent Technologies Stock Performance

Agilent Technologies stock traded down $8.05 during trading on Thursday, reaching $99.01. The company had a trading volume of 1,931,365 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,832,592. The firm has a market capitalization of $28.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.86, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 1.19. The company has a current ratio of 2.20, a quick ratio of 1.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $125.62 and its 200 day simple moving average is $134.48. Agilent Technologies, Inc. has a 52 week low of $96.43 and a 52 week high of $155.35.

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

Agilent Technologies Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 23rd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, April 1st will be issued a dividend of $0.248 per share. This represents a $0.99 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.00%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 1st. Agilent Technologies's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 22.76%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently commented on A shares. Citigroup boosted their target price on shares of Agilent Technologies to $165.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, December 19th. StockNews.com raised Agilent Technologies from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 24th. Bank of America reduced their target price on Agilent Technologies from $153.00 to $150.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Friday, December 13th. Barclays decreased their target price on Agilent Technologies from $138.00 to $115.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday. Finally, TD Cowen raised their price target on shares of Agilent Technologies to $135.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $146.25.

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.