Fred Alger Management LLC Has $1.98 Million Stake in Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A)

Fred Alger Management LLC grew its holdings in Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A - Free Report) by 188.0% in the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 13,317 shares of the medical research company's stock after buying an additional 8,693 shares during the period. Fred Alger Management LLC's holdings in Agilent Technologies were worth $1,977,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in A. Atria Investments Inc boosted its holdings in shares of Agilent Technologies by 26.6% in the first quarter. Atria Investments Inc now owns 11,841 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $1,723,000 after acquiring an additional 2,491 shares in the last quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers raised its stake in shares of Agilent Technologies by 953.3% during the 1st quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 32,694 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $4,757,000 after buying an additional 29,590 shares in the last quarter. Cetera Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Agilent Technologies by 45.7% during the 1st quarter. Cetera Advisors LLC now owns 13,620 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $1,982,000 after buying an additional 4,274 shares in the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Agilent Technologies by 36.4% in the first quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 731 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $100,000 after buying an additional 195 shares in the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC grew its holdings in Agilent Technologies by 54.0% during the second quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,583 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $205,000 after acquiring an additional 555 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.42% of the company's stock.

Agilent Technologies Stock Up 1.2 %

A traded up $1.63 during trading on Monday, hitting $139.60. The company had a trading volume of 1,702,239 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,728,208. The business has a 50-day moving average of $137.60 and a 200-day moving average of $137.15. The company has a market cap of $40.11 billion, a PE ratio of 31.58, a P/E/G ratio of 4.37 and a beta of 1.07. Agilent Technologies, Inc. has a 1-year low of $124.16 and a 1-year high of $155.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57, a current ratio of 2.09 and a quick ratio of 1.37.

Agilent Technologies Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 22nd. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 31st will be issued a $0.248 dividend. 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 0.71%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 31st. Agilent Technologies's payout ratio is currently 22.40%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on A. Barclays lowered their price target on shares of Agilent Technologies from $145.00 to $135.00 and set an "underweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, November 27th. Wells Fargo & Company began coverage on Agilent Technologies in a report on Tuesday, August 27th. They issued an "overweight" rating and a $157.00 price target on the stock. Citigroup lifted their price objective on Agilent Technologies from $150.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, August 22nd. Sanford C. Bernstein lowered their target price on Agilent Technologies from $140.00 to $135.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, November 26th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on Agilent Technologies from $165.00 to $160.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, November 26th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Agilent Technologies has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $143.40.

Insider Transactions at Agilent Technologies

In other news, SVP Dominique Grau sold 9,990 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $145.00, for a total transaction of $1,448,550.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 40,011 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,801,595. The trade was a 19.98 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.33% of the company's stock.

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.