Natixis Increases Stock Position in Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A)

Natixis lifted its position in Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A - Free Report) by 60.9% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 39,429 shares of the medical research company's stock after acquiring an additional 14,920 shares during the quarter. Natixis' holdings in Agilent Technologies were worth $5,297,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in A. CKW Financial Group increased its holdings in Agilent Technologies by 114.9% in 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 last quarter. Global X Japan Co. Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of Agilent Technologies by 161.1% during the 4th quarter. Global X Japan Co. Ltd. now owns 188 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 116 shares during the period. Redwood Park Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Agilent Technologies during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Lee Danner & Bass Inc. bought a new position in shares of Agilent Technologies in the 4th quarter worth about $29,000. Finally, Hanson & Doremus Investment Management grew its holdings in Agilent Technologies by 66.5% in the 4th quarter. Hanson & Doremus Investment Management now owns 263 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $35,000 after buying an additional 105 shares in the last quarter.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A has been the topic of a number of research reports. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price target on shares of Agilent Technologies from $135.00 to $116.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on shares of Agilent Technologies from $155.00 to $135.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. Robert W. Baird lowered their price target on Agilent Technologies from $161.00 to $159.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 27th. StockNews.com raised Agilent Technologies from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 24th. Finally, Barclays lowered their price objective on Agilent Technologies from $138.00 to $115.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 10th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Agilent Technologies has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $143.00.

Agilent Technologies Stock Up 2.2 %

Shares of A stock traded up $2.24 on Wednesday, reaching $105.05. 2,236,208 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,867,924. The business's 50 day moving average price is $117.53 and its 200 day moving average price is $131.61. The company has a market capitalization of $29.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.15, a PEG ratio of 2.83 and a beta of 1.19. Agilent Technologies, Inc. has a twelve month low of $96.43 and a twelve month high of $155.35. The company has a current ratio of 2.20, a quick ratio of 1.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56.

Agilent Technologies (NYSE:A - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 26th. The medical research company reported $1.31 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.27 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $1.68 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.67 billion. Agilent Technologies had a return on equity of 25.56% and a net margin of 19.27%. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Agilent Technologies, Inc. will post 5.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Agilent Technologies Announces Dividend

The firm 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. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 1st. This represents a $0.99 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.94%. Agilent Technologies's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 22.76%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Daniel K. Podolsky sold 1,819 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, March 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $116.46, for a total transaction of $211,840.74. Following the sale, the director now owns 35,737 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,161,931.02. This trade represents a 4.84 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, VP Rodney Gonsalves sold 1,908 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $121.98, for a total transaction of $232,737.84. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 21,786 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,657,456.28. This trade represents a 8.05 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here.

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.