FIL Ltd Has $497,000 Stock Holdings in Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A)

FIL Ltd reduced its holdings in Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A - Free Report) by 62.7% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 3,697 shares of the medical research company's stock after selling 6,221 shares during the quarter. FIL Ltd's holdings in Agilent Technologies were worth $497,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Agilent Technologies in the 4th quarter valued at about $456,963,000. Madison Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Agilent Technologies during the 4th quarter valued at $94,051,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in Agilent Technologies during the fourth quarter worth $48,172,000. Van ECK Associates Corp raised its holdings in shares of Agilent Technologies by 8.7% in the fourth quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 3,235,263 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $434,625,000 after acquiring 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 valued at $26,066,000. 87.42% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have weighed in on A. Robert W. Baird reduced their price target on Agilent Technologies from $161.00 to $159.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. TD Cowen lifted their price target on Agilent Technologies to $135.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, April 10th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Agilent Technologies from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, December 24th. Barclays lowered their target price on shares of 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, Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on shares of Agilent Technologies from $155.00 to $135.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $144.58.

Insider Buying and Selling at Agilent Technologies

In other news, Director Daniel K. Podolsky sold 1,819 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, March 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $116.46, for a total value of $211,840.74. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 35,737 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,161,931.02. This trade represents a 4.84 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Padraig Mcdonnell sold 1,911 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $150.00, for a total transaction of $286,650.00. Following the sale, 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 5,638 shares of company stock worth $731,229 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.26% of the company's stock.

Agilent Technologies Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:A traded down $0.32 on Friday, hitting $102.38. 1,769,911 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,856,940. The company's 50 day moving average price is $119.55 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $132.49. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $29.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.54, a PEG ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 1.19. Agilent Technologies, Inc. has a one year low of $96.43 and a one year high of $155.35.

Agilent Technologies (NYSE:A - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 26th. The medical research company reported $1.31 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.27 by $0.04. Agilent Technologies had a return on equity of 25.56% and a net margin of 19.27%. The business had revenue of $1.68 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.67 billion. Research analysts expect that Agilent Technologies, Inc. will post 5.54 earnings per share for the current year.

Agilent Technologies Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 23rd. Investors of record on Tuesday, April 1st will be issued a dividend of $0.248 per share. This represents a $0.99 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.97%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 1st. Agilent Technologies's dividend payout ratio is currently 22.76%.

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.