Quantbot Technologies LP Invests $2.04 Million in Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A)

Quantbot Technologies LP acquired a new stake in Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm acquired 15,169 shares of the medical research company's stock, valued at approximately $2,038,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Sienna Gestion grew its holdings in Agilent Technologies by 29.8% during the 4th quarter. Sienna Gestion now owns 78,445 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $10,537,000 after acquiring an additional 17,991 shares during the period. Vestal Point Capital LP bought a new stake in Agilent Technologies in the third quarter valued at about $14,848,000. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Agilent Technologies by 8.5% in the fourth quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 33,898 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $4,554,000 after buying an additional 2,664 shares during the period. S.E.E.D. Planning Group LLC boosted its holdings in Agilent Technologies by 12.7% during the fourth quarter. S.E.E.D. Planning Group LLC now owns 42,587 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $5,721,000 after buying an additional 4,805 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Daiwa Securities Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Agilent Technologies by 16.0% during the fourth quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 49,288 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $6,621,000 after buying an additional 6,802 shares during the last quarter.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. StockNews.com raised shares of Agilent Technologies from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 24th. Barclays raised shares of Agilent Technologies from an "underweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $135.00 to $145.00 in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Bank of America lowered their price objective on shares of Agilent Technologies from $153.00 to $150.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on Agilent Technologies from $157.00 to $155.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, December 9th. Finally, Citigroup increased their price target on Agilent Technologies to $165.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, December 19th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $150.83.

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Agilent Technologies Stock Down 0.7 %

Agilent Technologies stock traded down $0.86 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $119.04. The company's stock had a trading volume of 2,075,716 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,684,361. The business's 50 day simple moving average is $135.43 and its 200 day simple moving average is $136.92. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56, a quick ratio of 1.66 and a current ratio of 2.20. Agilent Technologies, Inc. has a 12 month low of $117.17 and a 12 month high of $155.35. The company has a market capitalization of $33.94 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.37, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.38 and a beta of 1.11.

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

Agilent Technologies Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 23rd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, April 1st will be paid a dividend of $0.248 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 1st. This represents a $0.99 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.83%. Agilent Technologies's dividend payout ratio is presently 22.76%.

Insider Activity

In related news, VP Rodney Gonsalves sold 1,908 shares of Agilent Technologies stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $121.98, for a total transaction of $232,737.84. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 21,786 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,657,456.28. The trade was a 8.05 % decrease in their position. 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 stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $150.00, for a total transaction of $286,650.00. Following the completion of 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 ownership of the stock. 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.