Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A) Shares Purchased by KBC Group NV

KBC Group NV boosted its holdings in shares of Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A - Free Report) by 3.2% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 82,338 shares of the medical research company's stock after buying an additional 2,567 shares during the period. KBC Group NV's holdings in Agilent Technologies were worth $11,062,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. 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 lifted its position in Agilent Technologies by 1.2% during the third 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 grew its position in Agilent Technologies by 0.4% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 6,948,679 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $1,028,241,000 after purchasing an additional 30,610 shares during the period. Nordea Investment Management AB raised its stake in shares of Agilent Technologies by 2.6% during the 4th 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 last quarter. Finally, Van ECK Associates Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Agilent Technologies by 6.6% in the 3rd quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 2,976,905 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $442,011,000 after buying an additional 183,716 shares during the period. 87.42% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on Agilent Technologies from $165.00 to $160.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, November 26th. Sanford C. Bernstein decreased their target price on Agilent Technologies from $140.00 to $135.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, November 26th. Bank of America decreased their price objective on shares of Agilent Technologies from $153.00 to $150.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, December 13th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Agilent Technologies from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 24th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $143.62.

Insider Buying and Selling at Agilent Technologies

In related news, CEO Padraig Mcdonnell sold 1,911 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $150.00, for a total value of $286,650.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 39,652 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,947,800. This represents a 4.60 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.33% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Agilent Technologies Stock Performance

Agilent Technologies stock traded up $3.94 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $151.03. 947,297 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,723,405. The firm has a market cap of $43.13 billion, a PE ratio of 34.28, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.12 and a beta of 1.06. 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 firm's 50-day simple moving average is $139.77 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $138.56. Agilent Technologies, Inc. has a twelve month low of $124.16 and a twelve month high of $155.35.

Agilent Technologies (NYSE:A - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, November 25th. The medical research company reported $1.46 earnings per share (EPS) 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 analyst estimates 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 was up .8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.38 earnings per share. Equities analysts predict that Agilent Technologies, Inc. will post 5.56 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Agilent Technologies Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 22nd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st were given a dividend of $0.248 per share. This is a positive change from Agilent Technologies's previous quarterly dividend of $0.24. This represents a $0.99 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.66%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, December 31st. Agilent Technologies's dividend payout ratio is presently 22.40%.

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.