Principal Financial Group Inc. Sells 22,575 Shares of Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A)

Principal Financial Group Inc. reduced its position in Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A - Free Report) by 5.9% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 361,711 shares of the medical research company's stock after selling 22,575 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned approximately 0.13% of Agilent Technologies worth $48,592,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. AMF Tjanstepension AB bought a new stake in Agilent Technologies in the third quarter worth approximately $2,726,000. Creative Planning increased its stake in Agilent Technologies by 5.9% in the third quarter. Creative Planning now owns 44,910 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $6,668,000 after purchasing an additional 2,498 shares in the last quarter. Commerzbank Aktiengesellschaft FI bought a new stake in Agilent Technologies in the third quarter valued at $271,000. McAdam LLC increased its stake in Agilent Technologies by 3.1% in the third quarter. McAdam LLC now owns 2,531 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $376,000 after purchasing an additional 77 shares in the last quarter. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in Agilent Technologies in the third quarter valued at $12,961,000. 87.42% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In other Agilent Technologies news, CEO Padraig Mcdonnell sold 1,911 shares of the company's 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 39,652 shares in the company, valued at $5,947,800. This represents a 4.60 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.26% of the company's stock.

Agilent Technologies Stock Performance

Shares of A stock traded down $1.46 during trading on Friday, hitting $135.33. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,112,236 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,641,125. The company has a market cap of $38.61 billion, a PE ratio of 30.62, a P/E/G ratio of 3.71 and a beta of 1.07. The company has a current ratio of 2.09, a quick ratio of 1.58 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57. The business has a fifty day moving average of $141.04 and a 200-day moving average of $139.28. Agilent Technologies, Inc. has a 52 week low of $124.16 and a 52 week high of $155.35.

Agilent Technologies (NYSE:A - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, November 25th. The medical research company reported $1.46 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.41 by $0.05. The firm 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 business's revenue for the quarter was up .8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.38 EPS. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Agilent Technologies, Inc. will post 5.56 earnings per share for the current year.

Agilent Technologies Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 23rd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, April 1st will be 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%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 1st. Agilent Technologies's dividend payout ratio is currently 22.40%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages recently commented on A. Bank of America decreased their target price on Agilent Technologies from $153.00 to $150.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Sanford C. Bernstein decreased their price objective on Agilent Technologies from $140.00 to $135.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, November 26th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on Agilent Technologies from $157.00 to $155.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Monday, December 9th. Citigroup boosted their price target on shares of Agilent Technologies to $165.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of Agilent Technologies from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 24th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price 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.