Mizuho Securities USA LLC Purchases 8,313 Shares of Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A)

Mizuho Securities USA LLC boosted its position in shares of Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A - Free Report) by 43.9% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 27,232 shares of the medical research company's stock after acquiring an additional 8,313 shares during the period. Mizuho Securities USA LLC's holdings in Agilent Technologies were worth $3,658,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Sienna Gestion boosted its stake in shares of Agilent Technologies by 29.8% in the fourth quarter. Sienna Gestion now owns 78,445 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $10,537,000 after acquiring an additional 17,991 shares during the period. Vestal Point Capital LP bought a new stake in Agilent Technologies during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $14,848,000. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Agilent Technologies by 8.5% in the 4th quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 33,898 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $4,554,000 after purchasing an additional 2,664 shares in the last quarter. S.E.E.D. Planning Group LLC boosted its stake in Agilent Technologies by 12.7% in the 4th quarter. S.E.E.D. Planning Group LLC now owns 42,587 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $5,721,000 after purchasing an additional 4,805 shares during the period. Finally, Daiwa Securities Group Inc. grew its holdings in Agilent Technologies by 16.0% during the 4th quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 49,288 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $6,621,000 after buying an additional 6,802 shares in the last quarter.

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Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Padraig Mcdonnell sold 1,911 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $150.00, for a total value of $286,650.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 39,652 shares of the company's stock, valued at $5,947,800. This represents a 4.60 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, VP Rodney Gonsalves sold 1,908 shares of the 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 sale, the vice president now directly owns 21,786 shares in the company, valued at $2,657,456.28. This trade represents a 8.05 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Bank of America lowered their target price on shares of Agilent Technologies from $153.00 to $150.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, December 13th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on shares of Agilent Technologies from $157.00 to $155.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, December 9th. Robert W. Baird cut their price objective on Agilent Technologies from $161.00 to $159.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. Citigroup boosted their target price on Agilent Technologies to $165.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. Finally, Barclays raised Agilent Technologies from an "underweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and increased their price target for the company from $135.00 to $145.00 in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $150.83.

Agilent Technologies Trading Down 0.7 %

NYSE:A traded down $0.86 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $119.04. 2,075,716 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,684,361. The firm has a market capitalization of $33.94 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.37, a P/E/G ratio of 3.38 and a beta of 1.11. The firm's fifty day moving average is $135.43 and its 200-day moving average is $136.92. Agilent Technologies, Inc. has a 12-month low of $117.17 and a 12-month high of $155.35. The company has a current ratio of 2.20, a quick ratio of 1.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56.

Agilent Technologies (NYSE:A - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 26th. The medical research company reported $1.31 earnings per share 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 business had revenue of $1.68 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.67 billion. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Agilent Technologies, Inc. will post 5.57 EPS for the current year.

Agilent Technologies Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed 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. This represents a $0.99 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.83%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 1st. Agilent Technologies's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 22.76%.

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.