Daiwa Securities Group Inc. Buys 6,802 Shares of Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A)

Daiwa Securities Group Inc. boosted its stake in Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A - Free Report) by 16.0% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 49,288 shares of the medical research company's stock after acquiring an additional 6,802 shares during the period. Daiwa Securities Group Inc.'s holdings in Agilent Technologies were worth $6,621,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in A. CKW Financial Group raised its position in shares of Agilent Technologies by 114.9% in the fourth quarter. CKW Financial Group now owns 187 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the period. Global X Japan Co. Ltd. grew its stake in Agilent Technologies by 161.1% during the fourth quarter. Global X Japan Co. Ltd. now owns 188 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 116 shares in the last quarter. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC purchased a new position in Agilent Technologies during the third quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Hanson & Doremus Investment Management grew its stake in Agilent Technologies by 66.5% during the fourth quarter. Hanson & Doremus Investment Management now owns 263 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $35,000 after acquiring an additional 105 shares in the last quarter. Finally, OFI Invest Asset Management purchased a new position in Agilent Technologies during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $37,000.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently commented on A shares. Barclays raised shares of Agilent Technologies from an "underweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $135.00 to $145.00 in a research note on Monday, February 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on shares of Agilent Technologies from $165.00 to $160.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, November 26th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on shares of Agilent Technologies from $157.00 to $155.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, December 9th. StockNews.com raised shares of Agilent Technologies from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 24th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein lowered their price objective on shares of Agilent Technologies from $140.00 to $135.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, November 26th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $146.15.

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Agilent Technologies Trading Down 0.9 %

NYSE:A opened at $119.92 on Thursday. The company has a fifty day moving average of $138.87 and a 200 day moving average of $138.28. Agilent Technologies, Inc. has a 52 week low of $119.08 and a 52 week high of $155.35. The company has a quick ratio of 1.66, a current ratio of 2.20 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56. The firm has a market capitalization of $34.19 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.57, a P/E/G ratio of 3.42 and a beta of 1.11.

Agilent Technologies (NYSE:A - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results 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. Agilent Technologies had a net margin of 19.27% and a return on equity of 25.56%. The company had revenue of $1.68 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.67 billion. On average, research analysts predict that Agilent Technologies, Inc. will post 5.57 earnings per share for the current year.

Agilent Technologies Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 23rd. Shareholders 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 yield of 0.83%. Agilent Technologies's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 22.76%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Agilent Technologies news, CEO Padraig Mcdonnell sold 1,911 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 21st. The shares were 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 in the company, valued at approximately $5,947,800. This represents a 4.60 % 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.

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.

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