Edgestream Partners L.P. Invests $2.20 Million in Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A)

Edgestream Partners L.P. acquired a new stake in shares of Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A - Free Report) in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 14,787 shares of the medical research company's stock, valued at approximately $2,196,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its position in shares of 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 valued at $2,314,784,000 after purchasing an additional 525,214 shares during the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp increased its holdings in Agilent Technologies by 6.6% during the third quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 2,976,905 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $442,011,000 after buying an additional 183,716 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC raised its position in Agilent Technologies by 4.8% in the third quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 2,948,536 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $437,799,000 after acquiring an additional 136,184 shares during the period. Impax Asset Management Group plc boosted its stake in shares of Agilent Technologies by 8.2% during the 3rd quarter. Impax Asset Management Group plc now owns 2,667,616 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $396,088,000 after acquiring an additional 203,234 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Victory Capital Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Agilent Technologies by 2.3% in the second quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 2,386,039 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $309,302,000 after buying an additional 52,550 shares during the period.

Agilent Technologies Price Performance

A stock traded down $0.32 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $139.26. 1,714,844 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,121,201. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $137.55 and a 200 day simple moving average of $136.95. Agilent Technologies, Inc. has a 52 week low of $124.16 and a 52 week high of $155.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57, a quick ratio of 1.58 and a current ratio of 2.09. The stock has a market capitalization of $40.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.51, a P/E/G ratio of 4.43 and a beta of 1.07.

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

Agilent Technologies Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 22nd. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 31st will be issued a dividend of $0.248 per share. This represents a $0.99 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.71%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 31st. This is a positive change from Agilent Technologies's previous quarterly dividend of $0.24. Agilent Technologies's dividend payout ratio is presently 21.27%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, SVP Dominique Grau sold 9,990 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $145.00, for a total value of $1,448,550.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 40,011 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,801,595. This represents a 19.98 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $151.00 target price on shares of Agilent Technologies in a report on Monday, August 26th. UBS Group lifted their target price on shares of Agilent Technologies from $141.00 to $150.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, August 22nd. Citigroup upped their target price on shares of Agilent Technologies from $150.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, August 22nd. StockNews.com cut Agilent Technologies from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, November 26th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company began coverage on Agilent Technologies in a research note on Tuesday, August 27th. They issued an "overweight" rating and a $157.00 price objective for the company. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $143.40.

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.