119,574 Shares in Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A) Purchased by Aware Super Pty Ltd as trustee of Aware Super

Aware Super Pty Ltd as trustee of Aware Super purchased a new stake in shares of Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor purchased 119,574 shares of the medical research company's stock, valued at approximately $16,064,000.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in A. Canada Post Corp Registered Pension Plan bought a new stake in Agilent Technologies in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $5,092,000. Synovus Financial Corp boosted its position in Agilent Technologies by 7.7% during the fourth quarter. Synovus Financial Corp now owns 1,934 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $260,000 after purchasing an additional 139 shares during the period. Advisors Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Agilent Technologies by 0.6% in the fourth quarter. Advisors Capital Management LLC now owns 60,486 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $8,126,000 after purchasing an additional 333 shares during the last quarter. Sagespring Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Agilent Technologies during the 4th quarter worth about $247,000. Finally, Townsquare Capital LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Agilent Technologies by 33.5% during the 4th quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC now owns 2,593 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $348,000 after buying an additional 651 shares during the period.

Insider Activity at Agilent Technologies

In other Agilent Technologies news, CEO Padraig Mcdonnell sold 1,911 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $150.00, for a total value of $286,650.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 39,652 shares in the company, valued at $5,947,800. The trade was a 4.60 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Daniel K. Podolsky sold 1,819 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $116.46, for a total transaction of $211,840.74. Following the sale, the director now owns 35,737 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,161,931.02. The trade was a 4.84 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 5,638 shares of company stock valued at $731,229 over the last ninety days.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A has been the topic of several research reports. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Agilent Technologies from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 24th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on shares of Agilent Technologies from $155.00 to $135.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday. 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 research note on Thursday, February 27th. Citigroup lifted their price objective on Agilent Technologies to $165.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, December 19th. Finally, Barclays reduced their target price on Agilent Technologies from $138.00 to $115.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 10th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Agilent Technologies presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $144.58.

Agilent Technologies Trading Down 0.3 %

NYSE A traded down $0.32 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $102.38. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,769,911 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,857,257. Agilent Technologies, Inc. has a 52 week low of $96.43 and a 52 week high of $155.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56, a current ratio of 2.20 and a quick ratio of 1.66. The stock has a market cap of $29.19 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.54, a P/E/G ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 1.19. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $120.34 and a 200-day simple moving average of $132.80.

Agilent Technologies (NYSE:A - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 26th. The medical research company reported $1.31 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.27 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $1.68 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.67 billion. Agilent Technologies had a net margin of 19.27% and a return on equity of 25.56%. Equities analysts forecast that Agilent Technologies, Inc. will post 5.55 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 $0.248 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 1st. This represents a $0.99 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.97%. Agilent Technologies's dividend payout ratio is currently 22.76%.

Agilent Technologies 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.