Primecap Management Co. CA Sells 116,179 Shares of Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A)

Primecap Management Co. CA lowered its stake in shares of Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A - Free Report) by 6.1% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,789,661 shares of the medical research company's stock after selling 116,179 shares during the quarter. Primecap Management Co. CA owned about 0.63% of Agilent Technologies worth $240,423,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Flynn Zito Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Agilent Technologies by 3.8% in the fourth quarter. Flynn Zito Capital Management LLC now owns 1,871 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $251,000 after acquiring an additional 69 shares in the last quarter. IFP Advisors Inc grew its holdings in Agilent Technologies by 17.7% during the 4th quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 458 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $62,000 after purchasing an additional 69 shares in the last quarter. Tiemann Investment Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Agilent Technologies by 5.6% during the fourth quarter. Tiemann Investment Advisors LLC now owns 1,423 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $191,000 after acquiring an additional 75 shares during the last quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. boosted its stake in shares of Agilent Technologies by 13.5% during the 3rd quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. now owns 646 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $96,000 after buying an additional 77 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Rothschild Investment LLC boosted its stake in Agilent Technologies by 19.2% during the 4th quarter. Rothschild Investment LLC now owns 491 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $66,000 after acquiring an additional 79 shares during the last quarter.

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Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently weighed in on A. Barclays upgraded shares of Agilent Technologies from an "underweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $135.00 to $145.00 in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price 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. Bank of America dropped their price target 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. Sanford C. Bernstein decreased their target price on Agilent Technologies from $140.00 to $135.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, November 26th. Finally, Robert W. Baird decreased their target price 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. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $146.15.

Agilent Technologies Price Performance

A stock traded up $0.44 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $120.72. The company had a trading volume of 3,041,425 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,682,254. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $137.07 and a 200-day moving average price of $137.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56, a current ratio of 2.20 and a quick ratio of 1.66. Agilent Technologies, Inc. has a 1-year low of $117.17 and a 1-year high of $155.35. The company has a market capitalization of $34.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.75, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.43 and a beta of 1.11.

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

Agilent Technologies Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Agilent Technologies

In other news, CEO Padraig Mcdonnell sold 1,911 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 in the company, valued at approximately $5,947,800. This represents a 4.60 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, VP Rodney Gonsalves sold 1,908 shares of Agilent Technologies stock in a transaction 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 completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 21,786 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,657,456.28. The trade was a 8.05 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here.

Agilent Technologies Company Profile

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.