Horizon Investments LLC Increases Position in Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A)

Horizon Investments LLC raised its position in shares of Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A - Free Report) by 435.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 21,198 shares of the medical research company's stock after purchasing an additional 17,238 shares during the quarter. Horizon Investments LLC's holdings in Agilent Technologies were worth $2,848,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also bought and sold shares of A. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its holdings in shares of Agilent Technologies by 3.5% during the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 15,589,874 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $2,314,784,000 after purchasing an additional 525,214 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp lifted its stake in Agilent Technologies by 1.2% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 12,819,897 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $1,903,498,000 after acquiring an additional 158,175 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Agilent Technologies by 0.4% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 6,948,679 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $1,028,241,000 after acquiring an additional 30,610 shares during the last quarter. Cantillon Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Agilent Technologies by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. Cantillon Capital Management LLC now owns 3,316,557 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $445,546,000 after acquiring an additional 17,627 shares during the period. Finally, Van ECK Associates Corp raised its holdings in shares of Agilent Technologies by 8.7% during the fourth quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 3,235,263 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $434,625,000 after purchasing an additional 258,358 shares during the last quarter.

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Agilent Technologies Trading Up 0.4 %

NYSE A traded up $0.44 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $120.72. 3,041,425 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,684,549. Agilent Technologies, Inc. has a 52 week low of $117.17 and a 52 week high of $155.35. The company has a quick ratio of 1.66, a current ratio of 2.20 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $136.74 and a 200 day moving average price of $137.29. The stock has a market cap of $34.42 billion, a PE ratio of 27.75, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.39 and a beta of 1.11.

Agilent Technologies (NYSE:A - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 26th. The medical research company reported $1.31 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.27 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $1.68 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.67 billion. Agilent Technologies had a return on equity of 25.56% and a net margin of 19.27%. Analysts forecast that Agilent Technologies, Inc. will post 5.57 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Agilent Technologies Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 23rd. Investors of record on Tuesday, April 1st will be given a $0.248 dividend. This represents a $0.99 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.82%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 1st. Agilent Technologies's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 22.76%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Agilent Technologies

In other Agilent Technologies news, VP Rodney Gonsalves sold 1,908 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $121.98, for a total value of $232,737.84. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 21,786 shares in the company, valued at $2,657,456.28. This represents a 8.05 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Padraig Mcdonnell sold 1,911 shares of Agilent Technologies stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $150.00, for a total transaction of $286,650.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 39,652 shares of the company's stock, valued at $5,947,800. This represents a 4.60 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have commented on A. StockNews.com raised shares of Agilent Technologies from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on Agilent Technologies from $165.00 to $160.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, November 26th. Bank of America cut their target price on shares of Agilent Technologies from $153.00 to $150.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Robert W. Baird cut their price target on Agilent Technologies from $161.00 to $159.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 27th. Finally, Barclays raised shares of 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, February 10th. 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, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $146.15.

About Agilent Technologies

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.