Meritage Group LP Sells 639,068 Shares of Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A)

Meritage Group LP decreased its holdings in shares of Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A - Free Report) by 32.4% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,334,958 shares of the medical research company's stock after selling 639,068 shares during the period. Agilent Technologies makes up 4.6% of Meritage Group LP's portfolio, making the stock its 10th biggest holding. Meritage Group LP owned 0.46% of Agilent Technologies worth $198,215,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its holdings in shares of Agilent Technologies by 5.7% during the second quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 15,064,660 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $1,952,832,000 after acquiring an additional 809,149 shares during the period. FMR LLC grew its position in Agilent Technologies by 62.2% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,287,665 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $191,193,000 after purchasing an additional 493,947 shares in the last quarter. Worldquant Millennium Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Agilent Technologies during the 3rd quarter valued at $49,449,000. Marshall Wace LLP lifted its holdings in shares of Agilent Technologies by 48.6% in the second quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 957,128 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $124,073,000 after purchasing an additional 313,155 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Jennison Associates LLC boosted its position in shares of Agilent Technologies by 63.3% in the third quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 586,439 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $87,075,000 after buying an additional 227,431 shares during the period.

Agilent Technologies Price Performance

Shares of Agilent Technologies stock traded up $3.79 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $144.37. 740,065 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,723,986. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $137.23 and a 200-day simple moving average of $136.64. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57, a current ratio of 2.09 and a quick ratio of 1.58. The firm has a market cap of $41.48 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.57, a PEG ratio of 4.46 and a beta of 1.07. Agilent Technologies, Inc. has a 52 week low of $124.16 and a 52 week high of $155.35.

Agilent Technologies (NYSE:A - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, November 25th. The medical research company reported $1.46 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.41 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $1.70 billion during 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 was up .8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.38 EPS. Research analysts forecast that Agilent Technologies, Inc. will post 5.56 earnings per share for the current year.

Agilent Technologies Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 22nd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st will be given a dividend of $0.248 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, December 31st. This represents a $0.99 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.69%. This is an increase from Agilent Technologies's previous quarterly dividend of $0.24. Agilent Technologies's payout ratio is presently 21.27%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently commented on the stock. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Agilent Technologies from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 26th. Bank of America upped their price target on shares of Agilent Technologies from $140.00 to $147.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, August 22nd. Evercore ISI lifted their price objective on Agilent Technologies from $135.00 to $145.00 and gave the company an "in-line" rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 1st. Stifel Nicolaus reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $151.00 target price on shares of Agilent Technologies in a research report on Monday, August 26th. Finally, Barclays reduced their target price on shares of Agilent Technologies from $145.00 to $135.00 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, November 27th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $143.14.

Insider Activity at Agilent Technologies

In other news, SVP Dominique Grau sold 9,990 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $145.00, for a total value of $1,448,550.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 40,011 shares of the company's stock, valued at $5,801,595. This represents a 19.98 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink.

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.