Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. Invests $11.57 Million in Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A)

Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. purchased a new position in Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 85,991 shares of the medical research company's stock, valued at approximately $11,567,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Agilent Technologies in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $456,963,000. Madison Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Agilent Technologies during the 4th quarter valued at about $94,051,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Agilent Technologies during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $48,172,000. Van ECK Associates Corp increased its position in Agilent Technologies by 8.7% in the 4th quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 3,235,263 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $434,625,000 after acquiring an additional 258,358 shares during the period. Finally, Proficio Capital Partners LLC bought a new stake in Agilent Technologies during the 4th quarter valued at $26,066,000.

Insider Transactions at Agilent Technologies

In related news, 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 value of $286,650.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 39,652 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,947,800. This trade represents a 4.60 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, VP Rodney Gonsalves sold 1,908 shares of Agilent Technologies stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $121.98, for a total value of $232,737.84. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 21,786 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,657,456.28. This trade represents a 8.05 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 5,638 shares of company stock worth $731,229 in the last 90 days.

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Agilent Technologies Trading Up 0.7 %

NYSE A traded up $0.69 on Friday, hitting $100.64. 707,705 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,842,942. Agilent Technologies, Inc. has a 52-week low of $96.43 and a 52-week high of $155.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56, a current ratio of 2.20 and a quick ratio of 1.66. The company has a market capitalization of $28.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.16, a P/E/G ratio of 3.00 and a beta of 1.19. The company's 50-day moving average price is $124.64 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $134.18.

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, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.27 by $0.04. Agilent Technologies had a net margin of 19.27% and a return on equity of 25.56%. The company had revenue of $1.68 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.67 billion. Research analysts predict that Agilent Technologies, Inc. will post 5.57 EPS for the current year.

Agilent Technologies Announces Dividend

The firm 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. This represents a $0.99 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.99%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 1st. Agilent Technologies's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 22.76%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. TD Cowen increased their target price on shares of Agilent Technologies to $135.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday. Barclays decreased their price objective on shares of Agilent Technologies from $138.00 to $115.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Thursday. Citigroup boosted their target price on Agilent Technologies to $165.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, December 19th. Bank of America decreased their price target on Agilent Technologies from $153.00 to $150.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Finally, StockNews.com raised Agilent Technologies from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 24th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $146.25.

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.