Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. Trims Stake in Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A)

Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. decreased its position in Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A - Free Report) by 4.8% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 134,301 shares of the medical research company's stock after selling 6,750 shares during the quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P.'s holdings in Agilent Technologies were worth $18,044,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. CKW Financial Group grew its position in shares of Agilent Technologies by 114.9% during the 4th quarter. CKW Financial Group now owns 187 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares during the period. Global X Japan Co. Ltd. raised its stake in shares of Agilent Technologies by 161.1% in the fourth quarter. Global X Japan Co. Ltd. now owns 188 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 116 shares during the period. Redwood Park Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Agilent Technologies during the 4th quarter valued at $27,000. Lee Danner & Bass Inc. purchased a new stake in Agilent Technologies in the 4th quarter worth about $29,000. Finally, Hanson & Doremus Investment Management lifted its holdings in Agilent Technologies by 66.5% during the fourth quarter. Hanson & Doremus Investment Management now owns 263 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 105 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.42% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts recently commented on the stock. TD Cowen upped their price target on shares of Agilent Technologies to $135.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 10th. Barclays reduced their price target on Agilent Technologies from $138.00 to $115.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 10th. StockNews.com raised Agilent Technologies from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, December 24th. Robert W. Baird cut their price objective 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. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on Agilent Technologies from $155.00 to $135.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $144.58.

Agilent Technologies Trading Down 0.3 %

Shares of Agilent Technologies stock traded down $0.32 on Friday, hitting $102.38. The stock had a trading volume of 1,769,911 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,856,940. The company has a quick ratio of 1.66, a current ratio of 2.20 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56. The stock has a market cap of $29.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.54, a PEG ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 1.19. Agilent Technologies, Inc. has a one year low of $96.43 and a one year high of $155.35. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $119.55 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $132.49.

Agilent Technologies (NYSE:A - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 26th. The medical research company reported $1.31 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.27 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $1.68 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.67 billion. Agilent Technologies had a return on equity of 25.56% and a net margin of 19.27%. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Agilent Technologies, Inc. will post 5.54 EPS for the current year.

Agilent Technologies Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 23rd. Investors of record on Tuesday, April 1st will be paid a $0.248 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 1st. This represents a $0.99 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.97%. Agilent Technologies's payout ratio is 22.76%.

Insider Activity at Agilent Technologies

In related news, CEO Padraig Mcdonnell sold 1,911 shares of the company's 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 39,652 shares in the company, valued at $5,947,800. The trade was a 4.60 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Daniel K. Podolsky sold 1,819 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $116.46, for a total transaction of $211,840.74. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 35,737 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,161,931.02. The trade was a 4.84 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 5,638 shares of company stock valued at $731,229 in the last three months. Company insiders own 0.26% 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.