Principal Financial Group Inc. trimmed its holdings in Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A - Free Report) by 83.0% during the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 384,286 shares of the medical research company's stock after selling 1,881,053 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned about 0.13% of Agilent Technologies worth $57,059,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.
A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in A. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its stake in Agilent Technologies by 3.5% during the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 15,589,874 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $2,314,784,000 after purchasing an additional 525,214 shares during the period. State Street Corp increased its holdings in shares of Agilent Technologies by 1.2% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 12,819,897 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $1,903,498,000 after buying an additional 158,175 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Agilent Technologies by 0.4% during the 3rd 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 buying an additional 30,610 shares during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp lifted its holdings 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 acquiring an additional 183,716 shares during the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew its position in Agilent Technologies by 4.8% in 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 acquiring an additional 136,184 shares during the period. 87.42% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.
Agilent Technologies Stock Up 0.1 %
NYSE:A traded up $0.09 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $134.60. The company had a trading volume of 1,194,923 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,734,785. Agilent Technologies, Inc. has a 12-month low of $124.16 and a 12-month high of $155.35. The firm has a market capitalization of $38.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.45, a PEG ratio of 4.48 and a beta of 1.07. 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 stock's fifty day simple moving average is $135.85 and its 200-day simple moving average is $136.50.
Agilent Technologies (NYSE:A - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, November 25th. The medical research company reported $1.46 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 business had revenue of $1.70 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.67 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.38 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was up .8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Agilent Technologies, Inc. will post 5.56 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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 dividend of $0.248 per share. This is a boost from Agilent Technologies's previous quarterly dividend of $0.24. This represents a $0.99 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.74%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 31st. Agilent Technologies's payout ratio is 22.40%.
Analysts Set New Price Targets
A has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Citigroup lifted their target price on Agilent Technologies to $165.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on shares of Agilent Technologies from $165.00 to $160.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, November 26th. StockNews.com cut shares of Agilent Technologies from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 26th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on shares of Agilent Technologies from $157.00 to $155.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, December 9th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $151.00 target price on shares of Agilent Technologies in a report on Monday, August 26th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $143.62.
Get Our Latest Research Report on Agilent Technologies
Insider Buying and Selling
In other Agilent Technologies news, SVP Dominique Grau sold 9,990 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $145.00, for a total transaction 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. This trade represents a 19.98 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders own 0.33% of the company's stock.
Agilent Technologies Profile
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Free Report)
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.
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