Two Sigma Advisers LP Grows Holdings in Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A)

Two Sigma Advisers LP boosted its holdings in Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A - Free Report) by 31.3% during the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 104,900 shares of the medical research company's stock after acquiring an additional 25,000 shares during the period. Two Sigma Advisers LP's holdings in Agilent Technologies were worth $15,576,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Marshall Financial Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Agilent Technologies in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $1,058,000. Van ECK Associates Corp raised its position 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 valued at $442,011,000 after purchasing an additional 183,716 shares during the period. AXA S.A. lifted its stake in Agilent Technologies by 32.3% during the second quarter. AXA S.A. now owns 362,945 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $47,049,000 after purchasing an additional 88,667 shares in the last quarter. Vestal Point Capital LP acquired a new position in Agilent Technologies during the third quarter worth $14,848,000. Finally, Empowered Funds LLC boosted its position in shares of Agilent Technologies by 29.8% during the third quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 30,978 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $4,592,000 after buying an additional 7,111 shares during the period.

Insider Activity at Agilent Technologies

In other news, SVP Dominique Grau sold 9,990 shares of Agilent Technologies stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $145.00, for a total value of $1,448,550.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 40,011 shares of the company's stock, valued at $5,801,595. The trade was a 19.98 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website.

Agilent Technologies Price Performance

Shares of NYSE A traded up $3.42 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $144.00. The company had a trading volume of 1,547,254 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,727,339. 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 business has a 50-day simple moving average of $137.15 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $136.60. Agilent Technologies, Inc. has a twelve month low of $124.16 and a twelve month high of $155.35. The firm has a market capitalization of $41.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.58, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.46 and a beta of 1.07.

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

Agilent Technologies Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 22nd. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 31st will be given a dividend of $0.248 per share. This represents a $0.99 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.69%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, December 31st. This is a boost from Agilent Technologies's previous quarterly dividend of $0.24. Agilent Technologies's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 21.27%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A has been the subject of a number of research reports. Barclays dropped their price objective on shares of Agilent Technologies from $145.00 to $135.00 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, November 27th. StockNews.com cut Agilent Technologies from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 26th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on Agilent Technologies from $165.00 to $160.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, November 26th. Stifel Nicolaus reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $151.00 price objective on shares of Agilent Technologies in a research note on Monday, August 26th. Finally, TD Cowen boosted their price objective on Agilent Technologies from $153.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, August 22nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $143.14.

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.