Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. Has $89.72 Million Stock Holdings in Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A)

Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. grew its holdings in Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A - Free Report) by 0.6% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 667,856 shares of the medical research company's stock after acquiring an additional 4,089 shares during the quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. owned 0.23% of Agilent Technologies worth $89,720,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the business. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. raised its stake in shares of Agilent Technologies by 22.4% in the fourth quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 32,312 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $4,370,000 after purchasing an additional 5,924 shares in the last quarter. Weaver Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Agilent Technologies by 37.3% in the fourth quarter. Weaver Capital Management LLC now owns 4,531 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $609,000 after purchasing an additional 1,231 shares in the last quarter. E. Ohman J or Asset Management AB raised its stake in shares of Agilent Technologies by 7.3% in the fourth quarter. E. Ohman J or Asset Management AB now owns 13,200 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $1,773,000 after purchasing an additional 900 shares in the last quarter. Childress Capital Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Agilent Technologies by 11.2% in the fourth quarter. Childress Capital Advisors LLC now owns 1,821 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $245,000 after purchasing an additional 183 shares in the last quarter. Finally, KPP Advisory Services LLC raised its stake in shares of Agilent Technologies by 7.0% in the fourth quarter. KPP Advisory Services LLC now owns 3,056 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $410,000 after purchasing an additional 199 shares in the last quarter.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages recently commented on A. Citigroup upped their target price on Agilent Technologies to $165.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on Agilent Technologies from $157.00 to $155.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, December 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on Agilent Technologies from $165.00 to $160.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, November 26th. Bank of America dropped their price objective 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, Sanford C. Bernstein dropped their price objective on Agilent Technologies from $140.00 to $135.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, November 26th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $144.38.

Agilent Technologies Trading Down 2.6 %

Agilent Technologies stock traded down $3.68 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $138.07. The stock had a trading volume of 2,103,516 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,685,718. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $141.72 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $139.46. The stock has a market capitalization of $39.39 billion, a PE ratio of 31.24, a P/E/G ratio of 4.00 and a beta of 1.07. Agilent Technologies, Inc. has a 12 month low of $124.16 and a 12 month high of $155.35. The company has a current ratio of 2.09, a quick ratio of 1.58 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57.

Agilent Technologies (NYSE:A - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, November 25th. The medical research company reported $1.46 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.41 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $1.70 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.67 billion. Agilent Technologies had a return on equity of 25.43% and a net margin of 19.80%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up .8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.38 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Agilent Technologies, Inc. will post 5.56 EPS for the current year.

Agilent Technologies Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 22nd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st were issued a dividend of $0.248 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, December 31st. This represents a $0.99 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.72%. This is a boost from Agilent Technologies's previous quarterly dividend of $0.24. Agilent Technologies's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 22.40%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Padraig Mcdonnell sold 1,911 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $150.00, for a total transaction of $286,650.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 39,652 shares of the company's stock, valued at $5,947,800. This trade represents a 4.60 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink.

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.