CCLA Investment Management Has $89.93 Million Holdings in Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A)

CCLA Investment Management trimmed its stake in shares of Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A - Free Report) by 14.5% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 669,251 shares of the medical research company's stock after selling 113,666 shares during the quarter. CCLA Investment Management owned approximately 0.23% of Agilent Technologies worth $89,933,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in A. Van ECK Associates Corp boosted its holdings in Agilent Technologies by 6.6% in the third quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 2,976,905 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $442,011,000 after purchasing an additional 183,716 shares during the period. AXA S.A. boosted its holdings in shares of Agilent Technologies by 32.3% in the 2nd quarter. AXA S.A. now owns 362,945 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $47,049,000 after buying an additional 88,667 shares during the period. Vestal Point Capital LP bought a new stake in shares of Agilent Technologies during the 3rd quarter valued at about $14,848,000. Empowered Funds LLC grew its position in shares of Agilent Technologies by 29.8% during the 3rd quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 30,978 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $4,592,000 after buying an additional 7,111 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Czech National Bank raised its stake in Agilent Technologies by 6.5% during the third quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 59,456 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $8,828,000 after acquiring an additional 3,612 shares during the period. 87.42% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Agilent Technologies Price Performance

Shares of NYSE A traded down $1.24 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $142.19. The company's stock had a trading volume of 2,328,634 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,521,582. The company has a market cap of $40.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.17, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.48 and a beta of 1.06. Agilent Technologies, Inc. has a one year low of $124.16 and a one year high of $155.35. 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 company has a 50 day moving average price of $136.07 and a 200 day moving average price of $136.96.

Agilent Technologies (NYSE:A - Get Free Report) last posted 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 company had revenue of $1.70 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.67 billion. Agilent Technologies had a return on equity of 25.43% and a net margin of 19.80%. The firm's revenue was up .8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.38 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts expect that Agilent Technologies, Inc. will post 5.56 EPS for the current year.

Agilent Technologies Increases Dividend

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Evercore ISI increased their price objective on shares of Agilent Technologies from $135.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock an "in-line" rating in a report on Tuesday, October 1st. Citigroup upped their target price on shares of Agilent Technologies to $165.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. StockNews.com raised Agilent Technologies from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, December 24th. Barclays decreased their price objective on Agilent Technologies from $145.00 to $135.00 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, November 27th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on Agilent Technologies from $157.00 to $155.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, December 9th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $143.62.

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.