Erste Asset Management GmbH Buys Shares of 113,984 Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A)

Erste Asset Management GmbH acquired a new position in shares of Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A - Free Report) in the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor acquired 113,984 shares of the medical research company's stock, valued at approximately $16,920,000.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Menard Financial Group LLC grew its stake in Agilent Technologies by 1.6% during the second quarter. Menard Financial Group LLC now owns 4,845 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $628,000 after buying an additional 77 shares during the period. McAdam LLC boosted its position in Agilent Technologies by 3.1% during the 3rd quarter. McAdam LLC now owns 2,531 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $376,000 after purchasing an additional 77 shares during the period. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. increased its holdings in Agilent Technologies by 13.5% in the 3rd quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. now owns 646 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $96,000 after purchasing an additional 77 shares in the last quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC raised its position in Agilent Technologies by 3.2% in the third quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 2,570 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $382,000 after purchasing an additional 79 shares during the period. Finally, Rovin Capital UT ADV lifted its stake in shares of Agilent Technologies by 1.6% during the third quarter. Rovin Capital UT ADV now owns 5,049 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $750,000 after purchasing an additional 81 shares in the last quarter. 87.42% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Agilent Technologies Stock Performance

Agilent Technologies stock traded up $1.63 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $139.60. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,702,239 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,728,208. The company has a current ratio of 2.09, a quick ratio of 1.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57. Agilent Technologies, Inc. has a twelve month low of $124.16 and a twelve month high of $155.35. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $137.60 and a 200-day moving average price of $137.15. The firm has a market cap of $40.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.58, a PEG ratio of 4.37 and a beta of 1.07.

Agilent Technologies Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 22nd. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 31st will be paid a dividend of $0.248 per share. This is a positive change from Agilent Technologies's previous quarterly dividend of $0.24. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 31st. This represents a $0.99 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.71%. Agilent Technologies's dividend payout ratio is 22.40%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on Agilent Technologies from $165.00 to $160.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, November 26th. Evercore ISI lifted their price objective on shares of Agilent Technologies from $135.00 to $145.00 and gave the company an "in-line" rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 1st. Citigroup upped their target price on shares of Agilent Technologies from $150.00 to $165.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, August 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company began coverage on shares of Agilent Technologies in a research note on Tuesday, August 27th. They set an "overweight" rating and a $157.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $151.00 price objective on shares of Agilent Technologies in a research report on Monday, August 26th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $143.40.

Insider Buying and Selling at Agilent Technologies

In other news, SVP Dominique Grau sold 9,990 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $145.00, for a total transaction of $1,448,550.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now 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 transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.33% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.