Quantessence Capital LLC Purchases Shares of 10,648 Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A)

Quantessence Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm acquired 10,648 shares of the medical research company's stock, valued at approximately $1,430,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. SkyView Investment Advisors LLC increased its stake in Agilent Technologies by 5.2% in the 3rd quarter. SkyView Investment Advisors LLC now owns 3,615 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $537,000 after buying an additional 178 shares during the last quarter. World Investment Advisors LLC grew its stake in Agilent Technologies by 4.7% during the third quarter. World Investment Advisors LLC now owns 4,466 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $663,000 after acquiring an additional 201 shares in the last quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB bought a new position in shares of Agilent Technologies in the third quarter worth $535,000. Tidal Investments LLC raised its holdings in shares of Agilent Technologies by 8.2% in the 3rd quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 14,752 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $2,187,000 after acquiring an additional 1,113 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dudley & Shanley Inc. bought a new stake in Agilent Technologies during the third quarter valued at approximately $8,300,000.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have weighed in on A. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on Agilent Technologies from $155.00 to $135.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price target on shares of Agilent Technologies from $135.00 to $116.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday. TD Cowen upped their price objective on shares of Agilent Technologies to $135.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 10th. StockNews.com raised Agilent Technologies from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 24th. Finally, Robert W. Baird dropped their price target on shares of Agilent Technologies from $161.00 to $159.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $143.00.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Daniel K. Podolsky sold 1,819 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $116.46, for a total transaction of $211,840.74. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 35,737 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,161,931.02. The trade was a 4.84 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, VP Rodney Gonsalves sold 1,908 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 $2,657,456.28. The trade was a 8.05 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here.

Agilent Technologies Stock Down 2.1 %

NYSE:A opened at $100.29 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56, a quick ratio of 1.66 and a current ratio of 2.20. The firm has a market cap of $28.59 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.06, a P/E/G ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 1.19. Agilent Technologies, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $96.43 and a fifty-two week high of $155.35. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $118.79 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $132.00.

Agilent Technologies (NYSE:A - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 26th. The medical research company reported $1.31 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.27 by $0.04. Agilent Technologies had a return on equity of 25.56% and a net margin of 19.27%. The business had revenue of $1.68 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.67 billion. Analysts predict that Agilent Technologies, Inc. will post 5.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Agilent Technologies Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 23rd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, April 1st will be paid 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 dividend yield of 0.99%. Agilent Technologies's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 22.76%.

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.

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