Empowered Funds LLC Acquires 6,307 Shares of Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A)

Empowered Funds LLC increased its position in shares of Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A - Free Report) by 20.4% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 37,285 shares of the medical research company's stock after purchasing an additional 6,307 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC's holdings in Agilent Technologies were worth $5,009,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of A. Van ECK Associates Corp boosted its stake in Agilent Technologies by 6.6% in the third quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 2,976,905 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $442,011,000 after acquiring an additional 183,716 shares in the last quarter. Vestal Point Capital LP acquired a new position in Agilent Technologies in the third quarter valued at $14,848,000. S.E.E.D. Planning Group LLC raised its holdings in shares of Agilent Technologies by 12.7% in the fourth quarter. S.E.E.D. Planning Group LLC now owns 42,587 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $5,721,000 after buying an additional 4,805 shares during the last quarter. National Pension Service boosted its stake in shares of Agilent Technologies by 10.8% during the third quarter. National Pension Service now owns 702,631 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $104,327,000 after buying an additional 68,670 shares during the period. Finally, AMF Tjanstepension AB acquired a new stake in shares of Agilent Technologies during the third quarter worth about $2,726,000.

Agilent Technologies Stock Down 1.4 %

Agilent Technologies stock traded down $1.88 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $134.57. The company had a trading volume of 1,358,730 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,732,627. The firm has a market capitalization of $38.39 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.45, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.00 and a beta of 1.07. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57, a current ratio of 2.09 and a quick ratio of 1.58. The firm's fifty day moving average is $141.53 and its 200-day moving average is $139.41. Agilent Technologies, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $124.16 and a fifty-two week high of $155.35.

Agilent Technologies (NYSE:A - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, November 25th. The medical research company reported $1.46 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.41 by $0.05. Agilent Technologies had a net margin of 19.80% and a return on equity of 25.43%. The business had revenue of $1.70 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.67 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.38 EPS. Agilent Technologies's quarterly revenue was up .8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts forecast that Agilent Technologies, Inc. will post 5.56 earnings per share for the current year.

Agilent Technologies Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 22nd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st were issued a dividend of $0.248 per share. This represents a $0.99 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.74%. This is an increase from Agilent Technologies's previous quarterly dividend of $0.24. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, December 31st. Agilent Technologies's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 22.40%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Padraig Mcdonnell sold 1,911 shares of Agilent Technologies stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $150.00, for a total transaction of $286,650.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 39,652 shares of the company's stock, valued at $5,947,800. This trade represents a 4.60 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on A shares. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Agilent Technologies from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 24th. Bank of America reduced their price objective 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on shares of Agilent Technologies from $165.00 to $160.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, November 26th. Citigroup raised their price objective on shares of Agilent Technologies to $165.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reduced 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. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Agilent Technologies has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $144.38.

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.