Principal Financial Group Inc. Sells 1,881,053 Shares of Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A)

Principal Financial Group Inc. decreased its position in shares of Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A - Free Report) by 83.0% in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 384,286 shares of the medical research company's stock after selling 1,881,053 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned 0.13% of Agilent Technologies worth $57,059,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in Agilent Technologies by 18.2% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 29,884,345 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $4,348,471,000 after purchasing an additional 4,605,228 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its stake in shares of Agilent Technologies by 5.7% during the second quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 15,064,660 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $1,952,832,000 after acquiring an additional 809,149 shares during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its holdings in Agilent Technologies by 13.9% during the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 8,542,054 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $1,242,956,000 after purchasing an additional 1,042,926 shares in the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp boosted its position in Agilent Technologies by 6.6% during the third quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 2,976,905 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $442,011,000 after purchasing an additional 183,716 shares during the period. Finally, Impax Asset Management Group plc lifted its position in shares of Agilent Technologies by 8.2% during the 3rd quarter. Impax Asset Management Group plc now owns 2,667,616 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $396,088,000 after buying an additional 203,234 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.42% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently commented on A. Barclays increased their price target on shares of Agilent Technologies from $135.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, October 15th. Bank of America upped their price target on Agilent Technologies from $140.00 to $147.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, August 22nd. Citigroup upped their price target on shares of Agilent Technologies from $150.00 to $165.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, August 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company initiated coverage on Agilent Technologies in a research note on Tuesday, August 27th. They issued an "overweight" rating and a $157.00 target price on the stock. Finally, TD Cowen lifted their target price on shares of Agilent Technologies from $153.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, August 22nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $144.36.

Agilent Technologies Stock Performance

A stock traded down $2.95 during trading on Friday, reaching $136.68. 1,918,633 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,560,934. The company has a market capitalization of $39.27 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.36, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.06 and a beta of 1.07. Agilent Technologies, Inc. has a twelve month low of $104.09 and a twelve month high of $155.35. The company has a current ratio of 1.78, a quick ratio of 1.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $139.46 and a 200-day simple moving average of $138.20.

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

Agilent Technologies Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, October 23rd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, October 1st were paid a dividend of $0.236 per share. This represents a $0.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.69%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, October 1st. Agilent Technologies's dividend payout ratio is presently 19.50%.

Insider Buying and Selling

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

Agilent Technologies 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.