Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. Has $4.37 Million Holdings in Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A)

Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A - Free Report) by 22.4% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 32,312 shares of the medical research company's stock after buying an additional 5,924 shares during the period. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd.'s holdings in Agilent Technologies were worth $4,370,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of A. CKW Financial Group raised its position in Agilent Technologies by 114.9% during the fourth quarter. CKW Financial Group now owns 187 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 100 shares during the period. Livelsberger Financial Advisory acquired a new position in Agilent Technologies during the third quarter valued at $28,000. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC acquired a new position in Agilent Technologies during the third quarter valued at $31,000. Fortitude Family Office LLC raised its position in Agilent Technologies by 68.3% during the third quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 234 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $35,000 after buying an additional 95 shares during the period. Finally, Hanson & Doremus Investment Management raised its position in Agilent Technologies by 66.5% during the fourth quarter. Hanson & Doremus Investment Management now owns 263 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $35,000 after buying an additional 105 shares during the period.

Insider Activity at Agilent Technologies

In other Agilent Technologies news, CEO Padraig Mcdonnell sold 1,911 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 of the company's stock, valued at $5,947,800. This represents a 4.60 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link.

Agilent Technologies Stock Down 2.6 %

Shares of A traded down $3.68 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $138.07. 2,103,516 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,685,718. The company has a market cap of $39.39 billion, a PE ratio of 31.24, a PEG ratio of 4.00 and a beta of 1.07. The firm's 50 day moving average is $141.72 and its 200-day moving average is $139.46. 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.

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 (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.41 by $0.05. Agilent Technologies had a return on equity of 25.43% and a net margin of 19.80%. The company had revenue of $1.70 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.67 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.38 EPS. The firm's revenue was up .8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts forecast 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 is an increase from Agilent Technologies's previous quarterly dividend of $0.24. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, December 31st. This represents a $0.99 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.72%. Agilent Technologies's dividend payout ratio is presently 22.40%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently weighed in on A. Sanford C. Bernstein dropped their price target 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 lowered their target price on Agilent Technologies from $153.00 to $150.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on Agilent Technologies from $157.00 to $155.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, December 9th. Barclays upgraded Agilent Technologies from an "underweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and boosted their target price for the company from $135.00 to $145.00 in a research note on Monday. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Agilent Technologies from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 24th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $144.38.

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.