Marshall Wace LLP Has $108.40 Million Position in Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A)

Marshall Wace LLP raised its holdings in shares of Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A - Free Report) by 280.3% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 806,895 shares of the medical research company's stock after purchasing an additional 594,744 shares during the quarter. Marshall Wace LLP owned approximately 0.28% of Agilent Technologies worth $108,398,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. NewEdge Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Agilent Technologies by 1.3% in the fourth 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. Guggenheim Capital LLC boosted its stake in Agilent Technologies by 3.5% in the 4th 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. Rossby Financial LCC acquired a new position in Agilent Technologies in the 4th quarter valued at $228,000. Aware Super Pty Ltd as trustee of Aware Super bought a new position in Agilent Technologies during the 4th quarter worth $16,064,000. Finally, Canada Post Corp Registered Pension Plan acquired a new stake in shares of Agilent Technologies during the fourth quarter worth $5,092,000.

Agilent Technologies Trading Down 0.3 %

Shares of Agilent Technologies stock opened at $102.80 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $29.31 billion, a PE ratio of 23.63, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.90 and a beta of 1.19. The company has a current ratio of 2.20, a quick ratio of 1.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56. The firm's 50 day moving average is $121.16 and its 200 day moving average is $133.12. Agilent Technologies, Inc. has a 1 year low of $96.43 and a 1 year high of $155.35.

Agilent Technologies (NYSE:A - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 26th. The medical research company reported $1.31 earnings per share 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 for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.67 billion. Equities research analysts forecast that Agilent Technologies, Inc. will post 5.55 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Agilent Technologies Dividend Announcement

The company 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. This represents a $0.99 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.96%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 1st. Agilent Technologies's payout ratio is 22.76%.

Insider Transactions at Agilent Technologies

In other news, Director Daniel K. Podolsky sold 1,819 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $116.46, for a total value of $211,840.74. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 35,737 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,161,931.02. This represents a 4.84 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, VP Rodney Gonsalves sold 1,908 shares of Agilent Technologies stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $121.98, for a total value of $232,737.84. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 21,786 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,657,456.28. This represents a 8.05 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 5,638 shares of company stock worth $731,229.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on A shares. Citigroup increased their price target on Agilent Technologies to $165.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. TD Cowen increased their target price on Agilent Technologies to $135.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, April 10th. Barclays dropped their price target on Agilent Technologies from $138.00 to $115.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 10th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Agilent Technologies from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 24th. Finally, Robert W. Baird dropped their target price on shares of Agilent Technologies from $161.00 to $159.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Agilent Technologies currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $146.25.

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.

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