Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A) Shares Purchased by Invesco LLC

Invesco LLC increased its stake in shares of Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A - Free Report) by 12.9% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 21,602 shares of the medical research company's stock after purchasing an additional 2,461 shares during the quarter. Agilent Technologies makes up about 1.2% of Invesco LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 21st largest holding. Invesco LLC's holdings in Agilent Technologies were worth $2,902,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its holdings in shares of Agilent Technologies by 3.5% during the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 15,589,874 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $2,314,784,000 after purchasing an additional 525,214 shares during the period. State Street Corp grew its position in shares of 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 buying an additional 158,175 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of 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 buying an additional 30,610 shares during the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB increased its stake in shares of Agilent Technologies by 2.6% in the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 3,198,715 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $431,603,000 after buying an additional 80,819 shares during the period. Finally, Van ECK Associates Corp raised its position in shares of Agilent Technologies by 6.6% during the third quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 2,976,905 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $442,011,000 after acquiring an additional 183,716 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.42% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in 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 report on Tuesday, November 26th. Citigroup increased their target price on shares of Agilent Technologies to $165.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. Barclays dropped their price objective on shares of Agilent Technologies from $145.00 to $135.00 and set an "underweight" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, November 27th. Bank of America decreased their target price on Agilent Technologies from $153.00 to $150.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein reduced their price objective on Agilent Technologies from $140.00 to $135.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, November 26th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Agilent Technologies presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $143.62.

Agilent Technologies Stock Up 2.9 %

Shares of A stock traded up $4.25 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $151.34. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,496,041 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,754,407. Agilent Technologies, Inc. has a 52-week low of $124.16 and a 52-week high of $155.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57, a quick ratio of 1.58 and a current ratio of 2.09. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $139.77 and a 200 day moving average price of $138.56. The stock has a market cap of $43.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.24, a PEG ratio of 4.12 and a beta of 1.06.

Agilent Technologies (NYSE:A - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Monday, November 25th. The medical research company reported $1.46 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 return on equity of 25.43% and a net margin of 19.80%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up .8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.38 earnings per share. Research analysts predict that Agilent Technologies, Inc. will post 5.56 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Agilent Technologies Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 22nd. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 31st were paid a dividend of $0.248 per share. This represents a $0.99 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.66%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, December 31st. This is an increase from Agilent Technologies's previous quarterly dividend of $0.24. Agilent Technologies's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 22.40%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Padraig Mcdonnell sold 1,911 shares of Agilent Technologies stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $150.00, for a total value of $286,650.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 39,652 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,947,800. This trade represents a 4.60 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.33% of the company's stock.

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.