Van ECK Associates Corp Grows Stake in Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A)

Van ECK Associates Corp increased its stake in Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A - Free Report) by 8.7% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 3,235,263 shares of the medical research company's stock after purchasing an additional 258,358 shares during the quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp owned approximately 1.13% of Agilent Technologies worth $434,625,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in A. Livelsberger Financial Advisory bought a new position in Agilent Technologies in the third quarter valued at about $28,000. CKW Financial Group increased its position in shares of Agilent Technologies by 114.9% during the 4th quarter. CKW Financial Group now owns 187 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. Global X Japan Co. Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of Agilent Technologies by 161.1% during the 4th quarter. Global X Japan Co. Ltd. now owns 188 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 116 shares during the period. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC bought a new position in shares of Agilent Technologies during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $31,000. Finally, Fortitude Family Office LLC boosted its stake in Agilent Technologies by 68.3% in the 3rd quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 234 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 95 shares during the period. 87.42% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Agilent Technologies Trading Down 1.4 %

Agilent Technologies stock traded down $1.88 during trading on Friday, reaching $134.57. The company had a trading volume of 1,358,730 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,732,627. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57, a quick ratio of 1.58 and a current ratio of 2.09. Agilent Technologies, Inc. has a 12-month low of $124.16 and a 12-month high of $155.35. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $141.53 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $139.41. The firm has a market capitalization of $38.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.45, a PEG ratio of 4.00 and a beta of 1.07.

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

Agilent Technologies Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 22nd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st were paid a $0.248 dividend. This represents a $0.99 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.74%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, December 31st. This is an increase from Agilent Technologies's previous quarterly dividend of $0.24. Agilent Technologies's payout ratio is currently 22.40%.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Padraig Mcdonnell sold 1,911 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 directly owns 39,652 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,947,800. This represents a 4.60 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 0.26% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently commented on A shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on Agilent Technologies from $165.00 to $160.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, November 26th. StockNews.com raised Agilent Technologies from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 24th. 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 report on Monday, February 10th. Citigroup raised 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, Bank of America cut their price target on Agilent Technologies from $153.00 to $150.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Friday, December 13th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Agilent Technologies currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $144.38.

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.