Bessemer Group Inc. trimmed its position in Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A - Free Report) by 16.6% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 975,885 shares of the medical research company's stock after selling 194,637 shares during the period. Bessemer Group Inc. owned approximately 0.34% of Agilent Technologies worth $131,101,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.
Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Agilent Technologies in the 4th quarter valued at $456,963,000. Madison Investment Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Agilent Technologies in the fourth quarter valued at about $94,051,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in shares of Agilent Technologies during the 4th quarter worth approximately $48,172,000. Van ECK Associates Corp grew its holdings in shares of Agilent Technologies by 8.7% in the 4th quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 3,235,263 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $434,625,000 after purchasing an additional 258,358 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Proficio Capital Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Agilent Technologies during the fourth quarter worth approximately $26,066,000.
Insider Buying and Selling at Agilent Technologies
In other Agilent Technologies news, VP Rodney Gonsalves sold 1,908 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, March 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $121.98, for a total transaction of $232,737.84. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 21,786 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,657,456.28. The trade was a 8.05 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Padraig Mcdonnell sold 1,911 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $150.00, for a total value of $286,650.00. Following the completion of the transaction, 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. Insiders sold a total of 5,638 shares of company stock worth $731,229 over the last three months.
Agilent Technologies Stock Performance
A stock traded down $2.11 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $103.08. The company had a trading volume of 354,093 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,852,905. Agilent Technologies, Inc. has a 12 month low of $96.43 and a 12 month high of $155.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56, a quick ratio of 1.66 and a current ratio of 2.20. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $122.90 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $133.54. The firm has a market cap of $29.39 billion, a PE ratio of 23.70, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 1.19.
Agilent Technologies (NYSE:A - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly 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. Agilent Technologies had a return on equity of 25.56% and a net margin of 19.27%. The firm had revenue of $1.68 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.67 billion. On average, analysts forecast that Agilent Technologies, Inc. will post 5.55 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.
Agilent Technologies Dividend Announcement
The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 23rd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, April 1st will be paid a $0.248 dividend. This represents a $0.99 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.96%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 1st. Agilent Technologies's dividend payout ratio is presently 22.76%.
Analysts Set New Price Targets
A has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Robert W. Baird decreased their price objective on shares of Agilent Technologies from $161.00 to $159.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 27th. StockNews.com raised shares of Agilent Technologies from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 24th. Citigroup increased their price target on Agilent Technologies to $165.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, December 19th. Barclays lowered their target price on Agilent Technologies from $138.00 to $115.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 10th. Finally, TD Cowen increased their price objective on shares of Agilent Technologies to $135.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 10th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Agilent Technologies presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $146.25.
Read Our Latest Stock Analysis on Agilent Technologies
About Agilent Technologies
(
Free Report)
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.
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