Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A) Shares Acquired by Nordea Investment Management AB

Nordea Investment Management AB lifted its stake in Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A - Free Report) by 2.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 3,198,715 shares of the medical research company's stock after purchasing an additional 80,819 shares during the period. Nordea Investment Management AB owned about 1.12% of Agilent Technologies worth $431,603,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its position in shares of Agilent Technologies by 3.5% in the 3rd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 15,589,874 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $2,314,784,000 after purchasing an additional 525,214 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp lifted its stake 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 worth $1,903,498,000 after purchasing an additional 158,175 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Agilent Technologies by 0.4% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 6,948,679 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $1,028,241,000 after purchasing an additional 30,610 shares during the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp increased its stake in Agilent Technologies by 6.6% in the third quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 2,976,905 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $442,011,000 after purchasing an additional 183,716 shares during the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC raised its holdings in Agilent Technologies by 4.8% during the third quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 2,948,536 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $437,799,000 after purchasing an additional 136,184 shares in the last quarter. 87.42% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently commented on A shares. Citigroup increased their target price on shares of Agilent Technologies to $165.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on Agilent Technologies from $157.00 to $155.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, December 9th. Evercore ISI lifted their price objective on shares of Agilent Technologies from $135.00 to $145.00 and gave the company an "in-line" rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 1st. Sanford C. Bernstein dropped their price objective on shares of Agilent Technologies from $140.00 to $135.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, November 26th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on shares of Agilent Technologies from $165.00 to $160.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, November 26th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $143.62.

Agilent Technologies Price Performance

Shares of A stock traded up $0.53 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $136.22. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,047,032 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,082,477. The company has a current ratio of 2.09, a quick ratio of 1.58 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57. The business has a fifty day moving average of $135.50 and a 200-day moving average of $136.67. Agilent Technologies, Inc. has a twelve month low of $124.16 and a twelve month high of $155.35. The stock has a market cap of $38.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.82, a P/E/G ratio of 4.48 and a beta of 1.06.

Agilent Technologies (NYSE:A - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Monday, November 25th. The medical research company reported $1.46 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.41 by $0.05. Agilent Technologies had a return on equity of 25.43% and a net margin of 19.80%. The firm had revenue of $1.70 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.67 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.38 EPS. Agilent Technologies's quarterly revenue was up .8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Agilent Technologies, Inc. will post 5.56 EPS for the current year.

Agilent Technologies Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 22nd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st will be given a $0.248 dividend. This represents a $0.99 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.73%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, December 31st. This is a positive change from Agilent Technologies's previous quarterly dividend of $0.24. Agilent Technologies's payout ratio is currently 22.40%.

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.