Avanza Fonder AB Buys New Position in Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A)

Avanza Fonder AB bought a new stake in Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor bought 28,647 shares of the medical research company's stock, valued at approximately $3,848,000.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its stake in Agilent Technologies by 3.5% during the 3rd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 15,589,874 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $2,314,784,000 after buying an additional 525,214 shares during the period. State Street Corp raised its position in shares of Agilent Technologies by 1.2% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 12,819,897 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $1,903,498,000 after purchasing an additional 158,175 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted 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 purchasing an additional 30,610 shares in the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB grew its position in shares of Agilent Technologies by 2.6% in the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 3,198,715 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $431,603,000 after purchasing an additional 80,819 shares during the period. Finally, Van ECK Associates Corp increased its stake in Agilent Technologies by 6.6% during the 3rd 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 in the last quarter.

Agilent Technologies Price Performance

Shares of Agilent Technologies stock traded up $2.85 on Friday, reaching $147.57. 3,210,301 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,210,953. The firm's 50 day moving average is $136.48 and its 200-day moving average is $137.19. The firm has a market cap of $42.15 billion, a PE ratio of 33.39, a P/E/G ratio of 3.71 and a beta of 1.06. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57, a quick ratio of 1.58 and a current ratio of 2.09. Agilent Technologies, Inc. has a one year low of $124.16 and a one year high of $155.35.

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

Agilent Technologies Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 22nd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st will be given a $0.248 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, December 31st. This is an increase from Agilent Technologies's previous quarterly dividend of $0.24. This represents a $0.99 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.67%. Agilent Technologies's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 22.40%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on A shares. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on Agilent Technologies from $157.00 to $155.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, December 9th. Citigroup lifted their target price on Agilent Technologies to $165.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. Bank of America reduced their price target on Agilent Technologies from $153.00 to $150.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, December 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on Agilent Technologies from $165.00 to $160.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, November 26th. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of Agilent Technologies from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 24th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Agilent Technologies presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $143.62.

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.