Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A) Position Reduced by Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd

Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd reduced its position in shares of Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A - Free Report) by 57.7% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 3,670 shares of the medical research company's stock after selling 5,009 shares during the period. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd's holdings in Agilent Technologies were worth $493,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. CKW Financial Group grew its stake in Agilent Technologies by 114.9% during the 4th quarter. CKW Financial Group now owns 187 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. Global X Japan Co. Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of Agilent Technologies by 161.1% in the 4th quarter. Global X Japan Co. Ltd. now owns 188 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 116 shares during the period. Lee Danner & Bass Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Agilent Technologies during the fourth quarter worth about $29,000. Hanson & Doremus Investment Management increased its stake in shares of Agilent Technologies by 66.5% during the fourth quarter. Hanson & Doremus Investment Management now owns 263 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $35,000 after buying an additional 105 shares during the period. Finally, OFI Invest Asset Management acquired a new stake in Agilent Technologies in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $37,000.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have issued reports on the company. Bank of America decreased their price target on Agilent Technologies from $153.00 to $150.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Friday, December 13th. Robert W. Baird decreased their target price on Agilent Technologies from $161.00 to $159.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Agilent Technologies from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 24th. Barclays cut their price objective on shares of Agilent Technologies from $138.00 to $115.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday. Finally, TD Cowen upped their target price on shares of Agilent Technologies to $135.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $146.25.

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Insider Buying and Selling

In other Agilent Technologies news, Director Daniel K. Podolsky sold 1,819 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $116.46, for a total transaction of $211,840.74. Following the transaction, the director now owns 35,737 shares in the company, valued at $4,161,931.02. The trade was a 4.84 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, VP Rodney Gonsalves sold 1,908 shares of the firm'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 sale, the vice president now owns 21,786 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,657,456.28. The trade was a 8.05 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 5,638 shares of company stock valued at $731,229.

Agilent Technologies Trading Up 2.7 %

Shares of NYSE A traded up $2.71 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $102.66. 2,848,584 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,681,859. Agilent Technologies, Inc. has a 52-week low of $96.43 and a 52-week high of $155.35. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $123.76 and a 200-day moving average price of $133.93. The company has a market capitalization of $29.27 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.60, a P/E/G ratio of 2.81 and a beta of 1.19. The company has a current ratio of 2.20, a quick ratio of 1.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56.

Agilent Technologies (NYSE:A - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 26th. The medical research company reported $1.31 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.27 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $1.68 billion during 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%. Equities research analysts expect that Agilent Technologies, Inc. will post 5.57 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Agilent Technologies Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 23rd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, April 1st will be issued a dividend of $0.248 per share. This represents a $0.99 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.97%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 1st. Agilent Technologies's payout ratio is currently 22.76%.

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.