Commonwealth Equity Services LLC Increases Stake in Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A)

Commonwealth Equity Services LLC grew its holdings in shares of Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A - Free Report) by 9.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 43,862 shares of the medical research company's stock after acquiring an additional 3,915 shares during the period. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC's holdings in Agilent Technologies were worth $5,892,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. FMR LLC grew its holdings in Agilent Technologies by 62.2% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,287,665 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $191,193,000 after buying an additional 493,947 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Agilent Technologies in the 4th quarter valued at $48,172,000. Worldquant Millennium Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Agilent Technologies in the third quarter valued at about $49,449,000. Van ECK Associates Corp grew its holdings in shares of Agilent Technologies by 8.7% during the fourth quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 3,235,263 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $434,625,000 after buying an additional 258,358 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ilex Capital Partners UK LLP acquired a new stake in shares of Agilent Technologies during the third quarter worth about $33,087,000.

Agilent Technologies Trading Down 0.7 %

Shares of A stock traded down $0.80 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $119.71. The company had a trading volume of 2,652,906 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,685,787. The firm has a market cap of $34.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.52, a P/E/G ratio of 3.42 and a beta of 1.11. The company has a 50 day moving average of $135.88 and a 200 day moving average of $137.05. 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, Inc. has a 1-year low of $117.17 and a 1-year high of $155.35.

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

Agilent Technologies Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 23rd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, April 1st will be given a $0.248 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 1st. This represents a $0.99 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.83%. Agilent Technologies's dividend payout ratio is presently 22.76%.

Insider Transactions at Agilent Technologies

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Bank of America reduced their price target on shares of Agilent Technologies from $153.00 to $150.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Citigroup increased their price target on shares of Agilent Technologies to $165.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. StockNews.com upgraded Agilent Technologies from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, December 24th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on shares of Agilent Technologies from $157.00 to $155.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, December 9th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on shares of Agilent Technologies from $165.00 to $160.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, November 26th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $146.15.

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.