Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A) Stock Position Lifted by Forsta AP Fonden

Forsta AP Fonden grew its position in shares of Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A - Free Report) by 7.7% during the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 113,200 shares of the medical research company's stock after purchasing an additional 8,100 shares during the period. Forsta AP Fonden's holdings in Agilent Technologies were worth $16,808,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. boosted its holdings in Agilent Technologies by 18.5% in the third quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 26,388 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $3,907,000 after purchasing an additional 4,118 shares during the last quarter. Outlook Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Agilent Technologies by 9.7% in the 3rd quarter. Outlook Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,434 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $361,000 after purchasing an additional 215 shares in the last quarter. Mediolanum International Funds Ltd boosted its stake in shares of Agilent Technologies by 0.5% during the 3rd quarter. Mediolanum International Funds Ltd now owns 89,390 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $13,213,000 after buying an additional 414 shares during the last quarter. Lake Street Advisors Group LLC grew its position in shares of Agilent Technologies by 2.9% during the third quarter. Lake Street Advisors Group LLC now owns 3,295 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $489,000 after buying an additional 94 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ballentine Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of Agilent Technologies by 7.7% in the third quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC now owns 2,732 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $406,000 after buying an additional 195 shares during the last quarter. 87.42% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have commented on A. Citigroup increased their price objective on shares of Agilent Technologies from $150.00 to $165.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, August 22nd. Bank of America lifted their price target on Agilent Technologies from $140.00 to $147.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, August 22nd. UBS Group upped their price objective on Agilent Technologies from $141.00 to $150.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, August 22nd. TD Cowen lifted their target price on Agilent Technologies from $153.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, August 22nd. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $151.00 price target on shares of Agilent Technologies in a report on Monday, August 26th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Agilent Technologies currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $144.36.

Agilent Technologies Stock Performance

A stock traded down $0.50 on Friday, reaching $130.19. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,248,591 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,685,121. Agilent Technologies, Inc. has a 52 week low of $96.80 and a 52 week high of $155.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a current ratio of 1.78 and a quick ratio of 1.37. The company has a market capitalization of $37.98 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.78, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.96 and a beta of 1.05. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $140.53 and a two-hundred day moving average of $138.33.

Agilent Technologies (NYSE:A - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 21st. The medical research company reported $1.32 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.26 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $1.58 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.56 billion. Agilent Technologies had a return on equity of 25.26% and a net margin of 21.75%. The company's revenue for the quarter was down 5.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.43 earnings per share. As a group, analysts predict that Agilent Technologies, Inc. will post 5.24 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Agilent Technologies Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, October 23rd. Investors of record on Tuesday, October 1st were paid a dividend of $0.236 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, October 1st. This represents a $0.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.73%. Agilent Technologies's dividend payout ratio is presently 22.22%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, SVP Dominique Grau sold 9,990 shares of Agilent Technologies stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $145.00, for a total transaction of $1,448,550.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 40,011 shares of the company's stock, valued at $5,801,595. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other Agilent Technologies news, SVP Dominique Grau sold 9,990 shares of Agilent Technologies stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 26th. The shares were 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 in the company, valued at approximately $5,801,595. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Padraig Mcdonnell sold 1,958 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $145.00, for a total value of $283,910.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 24,118 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,497,110. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 11,995 shares of company stock worth $1,739,510 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.33% of the company's stock.

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.