Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. Raises Stock Holdings in Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A)

Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. increased its position in Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A - Free Report) by 12.8% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 164,470 shares of the medical research company's stock after buying an additional 18,630 shares during the period. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. owned 0.06% of Agilent Technologies worth $22,096,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

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

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Padraig Mcdonnell sold 1,911 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 21st. The stock was 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 owns 39,652 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,947,800. This represents a 4.60 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website.

Agilent Technologies Stock Performance

Shares of A stock traded down $1.58 during trading on Thursday, reaching $136.51. 1,395,435 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,675,708. The company has a quick ratio of 1.58, a current ratio of 2.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57. The stock has a market capitalization of $38.94 billion, a PE ratio of 30.88, a PEG ratio of 4.00 and a beta of 1.07. Agilent Technologies, Inc. has a twelve month low of $124.16 and a twelve month high of $155.35. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $141.68 and its 200-day moving average price is $139.45.

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

Agilent Technologies Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 22nd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st were given a dividend of $0.248 per share. This represents a $0.99 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.73%. This is an increase from Agilent Technologies's previous quarterly dividend of $0.24. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, December 31st. Agilent Technologies's dividend payout ratio is presently 22.40%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently commented on A. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on Agilent Technologies from $165.00 to $160.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, November 26th. Sanford C. Bernstein reduced their target price on Agilent Technologies from $140.00 to $135.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, November 26th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on Agilent Technologies from $157.00 to $155.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, December 9th. Barclays upgraded Agilent Technologies from an "underweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $135.00 to $145.00 in a research note on Monday. Finally, Bank of America dropped their price objective on Agilent Technologies from $153.00 to $150.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus 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.