Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A) Shares Purchased by Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd.

Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A - Free Report) by 4.7% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 85,436 shares of the medical research company's stock after purchasing an additional 3,843 shares during the quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd.'s holdings in Agilent Technologies were worth $12,686,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Dynamic Advisor Solutions LLC grew its holdings in Agilent Technologies by 3.6% in the second quarter. Dynamic Advisor Solutions LLC now owns 5,020 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $651,000 after purchasing an additional 176 shares during the period. Diversified Trust Co boosted its holdings in shares of Agilent Technologies by 2.6% in the 2nd quarter. Diversified Trust Co now owns 6,755 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $876,000 after purchasing an additional 174 shares during the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its stake in shares of Agilent Technologies by 2.3% during the 2nd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 9,910 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $1,285,000 after buying an additional 226 shares during the period. Triad Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Agilent Technologies during the 2nd quarter worth $141,000. Finally, Naples Global Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Agilent Technologies by 2.7% in the 2nd quarter. Naples Global Advisors LLC now owns 14,180 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $1,838,000 after buying an additional 375 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.42% of the company's stock.

Agilent Technologies Stock Down 0.2 %

Shares of NYSE A traded down $0.28 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $140.91. 976,330 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,723,057. The stock has a market capitalization of $40.49 billion, a PE ratio of 31.93, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.46 and a beta of 1.07. Agilent Technologies, Inc. has a 52-week low of $124.16 and a 52-week high of $155.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57, a quick ratio of 1.58 and a current ratio of 2.09. The business's fifty day moving average price is $136.95 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $136.57.

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 return on equity of 25.43% and a net margin of 19.80%. The company had revenue of $1.70 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.67 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.38 EPS. Agilent Technologies's revenue for the quarter was up .8% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts forecast that Agilent Technologies, Inc. will post 5.56 EPS for the current year.

Agilent Technologies Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 22nd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st will be issued a dividend of $0.248 per share. This is a positive change from Agilent Technologies's previous quarterly dividend of $0.24. This represents a $0.99 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.70%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 31st. Agilent Technologies's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 22.40%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, SVP Dominique Grau sold 9,990 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $145.00, for a total transaction of $1,448,550.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 40,011 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,801,595. This represents a 19.98 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.33% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have issued reports on A. Bank of America boosted their price target on Agilent Technologies from $140.00 to $147.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, August 22nd. Evercore ISI boosted their target price on Agilent Technologies from $135.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock an "in-line" rating in a report on Tuesday, October 1st. Citigroup raised their price target on shares of Agilent Technologies from $150.00 to $165.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, August 22nd. UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of Agilent Technologies from $141.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, August 22nd. Finally, StockNews.com lowered shares of Agilent Technologies from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 26th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $143.14.

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.