State Street Corp Acquires 158,175 Shares of Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A)

State Street Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A - Free Report) by 1.2% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 12,819,897 shares of the medical research company's stock after acquiring an additional 158,175 shares during the quarter. State Street Corp owned about 4.46% of Agilent Technologies worth $1,903,498,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in A. Livelsberger Financial Advisory acquired a new position in shares of Agilent Technologies during the third quarter worth $28,000. Crewe Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Agilent Technologies by 114.8% in the 2nd quarter. Crewe Advisors LLC now owns 189 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 101 shares in the last quarter. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC purchased a new position in Agilent Technologies in the 3rd quarter valued at about $31,000. Ridgewood Investments LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Agilent Technologies during the second quarter valued at about $29,000. Finally, Fortitude Family Office LLC lifted its stake in shares of Agilent Technologies by 68.3% in the third quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 234 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $35,000 after acquiring an additional 95 shares in the last quarter.

Agilent Technologies Trading Up 2.0 %

A traded up $2.71 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $140.58. The stock had a trading volume of 1,298,025 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,115,917. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57, a quick ratio of 1.58 and a current ratio of 2.09. The stock has a market capitalization of $40.39 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.81, a P/E/G ratio of 4.45 and a beta of 1.07. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $137.23 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $136.76. Agilent Technologies, Inc. has a 52 week low of $124.16 and a 52 week high of $155.35.

Agilent Technologies (NYSE:A - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, November 25th. The medical research company reported $1.46 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.67 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.38 EPS. Agilent Technologies's revenue for the quarter was up .8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts predict that Agilent Technologies, Inc. will post 5.56 EPS for the current year.

Agilent Technologies Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 22nd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st will be issued a $0.248 dividend. This represents a $0.99 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.71%. This is a positive change from Agilent Technologies's previous quarterly dividend of $0.24. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, December 31st. Agilent Technologies's dividend payout ratio is currently 21.27%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have commented on A. UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of Agilent Technologies from $141.00 to $150.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, August 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company began coverage on shares of Agilent Technologies in a research report on Tuesday, August 27th. They set an "overweight" rating and a $157.00 price target on the stock. Sanford C. Bernstein lowered their price objective on Agilent Technologies from $140.00 to $135.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, November 26th. Citigroup increased their target price on Agilent Technologies from $150.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, August 22nd. Finally, Barclays lowered their price target on Agilent Technologies from $145.00 to $135.00 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, November 27th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Agilent Technologies currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $143.40.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related 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 value of $1,448,550.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 40,011 shares in the company, valued at $5,801,595. This trade represents a 19.98 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink.

About Agilent Technologies

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.