OVERSEA CHINESE BANKING Corp Ltd Raises Holdings in Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A)

OVERSEA CHINESE BANKING Corp Ltd increased its position in shares of Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A - Free Report) by 2.1% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 265,954 shares of the medical research company's stock after purchasing an additional 5,561 shares during the period. Agilent Technologies accounts for approximately 1.0% of OVERSEA CHINESE BANKING Corp Ltd's portfolio, making the stock its 24th largest position. OVERSEA CHINESE BANKING Corp Ltd owned 0.09% of Agilent Technologies worth $35,728,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of A. Madison Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Agilent Technologies in the fourth quarter valued at $94,051,000. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its stake in Agilent Technologies by 3.5% in the third 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 acquiring an additional 525,214 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC boosted its stake in Agilent Technologies by 62.2% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,287,665 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $191,193,000 after acquiring an additional 493,947 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in Agilent Technologies in the fourth quarter valued at $48,172,000. Finally, Worldquant Millennium Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Agilent Technologies in the third quarter valued at $49,449,000.

Agilent Technologies Stock Performance

NYSE A traded up $0.44 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $120.72. 3,041,425 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,684,549. The company has a market cap of $34.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.75, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.39 and a beta of 1.11. Agilent Technologies, Inc. has a 12-month low of $117.17 and a 12-month high of $155.35. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $136.74 and a 200 day moving average of $137.29. The company has a quick ratio of 1.66, a current ratio of 2.20 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56.

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Agilent Technologies (NYSE:A - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 26th. The medical research company reported $1.31 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.27 by $0.04. Agilent Technologies had a net margin of 19.27% and a return on equity of 25.56%. The firm had revenue of $1.68 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.67 billion. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Agilent Technologies, Inc. will post 5.57 earnings per share for the current year.

Agilent Technologies Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 23rd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, April 1st will be issued a $0.248 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 1st. This represents a $0.99 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.82%. Agilent Technologies's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 22.76%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Agilent Technologies

In other Agilent Technologies news, VP Rodney Gonsalves sold 1,908 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $121.98, for a total value of $232,737.84. Following the completion of the transaction, 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 ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Padraig Mcdonnell sold 1,911 shares of the firm'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 transaction of $286,650.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 39,652 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,947,800. This trade represents a 4.60 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have issued reports on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on shares of Agilent Technologies from $157.00 to $155.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, December 9th. Robert W. Baird decreased their price objective on shares of Agilent Technologies from $161.00 to $159.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. Bank of America decreased their target price on shares of Agilent Technologies from $153.00 to $150.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Barclays upgraded shares of Agilent Technologies from an "underweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and increased their target price for the stock from $135.00 to $145.00 in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased 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. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $146.15.

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.