Geode Capital Management LLC Raises Holdings in Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A)

Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A - Free Report) by 0.4% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 6,948,679 shares of the medical research company's stock after acquiring an additional 30,610 shares during the quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC owned 2.42% of Agilent Technologies worth $1,028,241,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its stake in Agilent Technologies by 3.5% in 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 buying an additional 525,214 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its holdings in shares of Agilent Technologies by 1.2% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 12,819,897 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $1,903,498,000 after buying an additional 158,175 shares during the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp lifted its holdings in Agilent Technologies by 6.6% in 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 acquiring an additional 183,716 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lifted its stake in shares of Agilent Technologies by 4.8% in the 3rd 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 valued at $437,799,000 after purchasing an additional 136,184 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Impax Asset Management Group plc lifted its position in Agilent Technologies by 8.2% in the third quarter. Impax Asset Management Group plc now owns 2,667,616 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $396,088,000 after buying an additional 203,234 shares during the last quarter. 87.42% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at Agilent Technologies

In other news, SVP Dominique Grau sold 9,990 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $145.00, for a total transaction of $1,448,550.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 40,011 shares in the company, valued at $5,801,595. This trade represents a 19.98 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.33% of the company's stock.

Agilent Technologies Price Performance

Shares of A traded down $0.29 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $140.90. The company's stock had a trading volume of 976,330 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,723,057. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $136.95 and a 200 day simple moving average of $136.57. Agilent Technologies, Inc. has a 1-year low of $124.16 and a 1-year high of $155.35. The firm has a market capitalization of $40.48 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.93, a P/E/G ratio of 4.46 and a beta of 1.07. The company has a current ratio of 2.09, a quick ratio of 1.58 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57.

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

Agilent Technologies Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 22nd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st will be given a dividend of $0.248 per share. This represents a $0.99 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.70%. This is an increase from Agilent Technologies's previous quarterly dividend of $0.24. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, December 31st. Agilent Technologies's payout ratio is presently 22.40%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently commented on the stock. TD Cowen raised their price objective on shares of Agilent Technologies from $153.00 to $160.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, August 22nd. UBS Group upped their price target on Agilent Technologies from $141.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, August 22nd. Citigroup increased their price objective on shares of Agilent Technologies from $150.00 to $165.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, August 22nd. Sanford C. Bernstein decreased 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 research report on Tuesday, November 26th. Finally, Evercore ISI raised their price target on Agilent Technologies from $135.00 to $145.00 and gave the company an "in-line" rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 1st. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Agilent Technologies currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $143.14.

About Agilent Technologies

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.