Goodman Advisory Group LLC Acquires 3,526 Shares of Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A)

Goodman Advisory Group LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A - Free Report) by 23.6% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 18,476 shares of the medical research company's stock after acquiring an additional 3,526 shares during the period. Goodman Advisory Group LLC's holdings in Agilent Technologies were worth $2,482,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Commerce Bank raised its holdings in shares of Agilent Technologies by 2.3% in the fourth quarter. Commerce Bank now owns 33,410 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $4,488,000 after buying an additional 746 shares during the last quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co raised its stake in Agilent Technologies by 4.8% during the 4th quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co now owns 331,599 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $44,536,000 after acquiring an additional 15,080 shares during the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP lifted its position in Agilent Technologies by 280.3% during the 4th quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 806,895 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $108,398,000 after acquiring an additional 594,744 shares during the period. NewEdge Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Agilent Technologies by 1.3% in the 4th quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 19,123 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $2,569,000 after purchasing an additional 253 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Guggenheim Capital LLC increased its holdings in shares of Agilent Technologies by 3.5% in the fourth quarter. Guggenheim Capital LLC now owns 9,804 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $1,317,000 after purchasing an additional 332 shares during the period.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have commented on A shares. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on shares of Agilent Technologies from $155.00 to $135.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their price target on Agilent Technologies from $135.00 to $116.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday. Barclays dropped their price objective on Agilent Technologies from $138.00 to $115.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 10th. StockNews.com raised Agilent Technologies from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, December 24th. Finally, TD Cowen upped their price target on shares of Agilent Technologies to $135.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 10th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $143.00.

Agilent Technologies Trading Up 3.3 %

A traded up $3.44 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $106.25. The company had a trading volume of 985,790 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,863,674. Agilent Technologies, Inc. has a 12-month low of $96.43 and a 12-month high of $155.35. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $118.12 and its 200 day simple moving average is $131.80. The company has a market cap of $30.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.43, a PEG ratio of 2.83 and a beta of 1.19. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56, a quick ratio of 1.66 and a current ratio of 2.20.

Agilent Technologies (NYSE:A - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 26th. The medical research company reported $1.31 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 firm had revenue of $1.68 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.67 billion. Equities research analysts anticipate that Agilent Technologies, Inc. will post 5.54 earnings per share for the current year.

Agilent Technologies Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 23rd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, April 1st will be paid a dividend of $0.248 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 1st. This represents a $0.99 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.93%. Agilent Technologies's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 22.76%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Daniel K. Podolsky sold 1,819 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, March 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $116.46, for a total value of $211,840.74. Following the transaction, 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 position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, VP Rodney Gonsalves sold 1,908 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, March 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $121.98, for a total transaction of $232,737.84. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 21,786 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,657,456.28. This represents a 8.05 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here.

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.