HighTower Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A - Free Report) by 6.6% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 71,413 shares of the medical research company's stock after buying an additional 4,432 shares during the period. HighTower Advisors LLC's holdings in Agilent Technologies were worth $9,594,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.
Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 525,214 shares during the period. State Street Corp boosted its holdings in Agilent Technologies by 1.2% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 12,819,897 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $1,903,498,000 after purchasing an additional 158,175 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Agilent Technologies by 0.4% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 6,948,679 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $1,028,241,000 after purchasing an additional 30,610 shares during the period. Cantillon Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Agilent Technologies by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. Cantillon Capital Management LLC now owns 3,316,557 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $445,546,000 after purchasing an additional 17,627 shares during the period. Finally, Van ECK Associates Corp boosted its holdings in Agilent Technologies by 8.7% in the 4th quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 3,235,263 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $434,625,000 after purchasing an additional 258,358 shares during the period.
Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades
A has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. StockNews.com raised shares of Agilent Technologies from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, December 24th. Bank of America dropped their target price on shares of Agilent Technologies from $153.00 to $150.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Citigroup boosted their target price on shares of Agilent Technologies to $165.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on shares of Agilent Technologies from $165.00 to $160.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, November 26th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein dropped their target price 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. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $146.15.
Check Out Our Latest Stock Report on Agilent Technologies
Insider Buying and Selling at Agilent Technologies
In other news, VP Rodney Gonsalves sold 1,908 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, March 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $121.98, for a total value of $232,737.84. Following the sale, 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 transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Padraig Mcdonnell sold 1,911 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $150.00, for a total transaction of $286,650.00. Following the completion of 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 ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here.
Agilent Technologies Price Performance
A stock traded up $0.44 during trading on Friday, reaching $120.72. 3,041,425 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,682,254. The company has a 50-day moving average of $137.07 and a two-hundred day moving average of $137.45. The company has a market capitalization of $34.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.75, a P/E/G ratio of 3.43 and a beta of 1.11. Agilent Technologies, Inc. has a twelve month low of $117.17 and a twelve month high of $155.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56, a current ratio of 2.20 and a quick ratio of 1.66.
Agilent Technologies (NYSE:A - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 26th. The medical research company reported $1.31 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 analysts' expectations of $1.67 billion. As a group, equities analysts predict that Agilent Technologies, Inc. will post 5.57 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.
Agilent Technologies Announces Dividend
The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 23rd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, April 1st will be given a $0.248 dividend. This represents a $0.99 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.82%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 1st. Agilent Technologies's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 22.76%.
Agilent Technologies Profile
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Free Report)
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.
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