Vestcor Inc cut its holdings in shares of Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A - Free Report) by 24.0% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 13,835 shares of the medical research company's stock after selling 4,370 shares during the period. Vestcor Inc's holdings in Agilent Technologies were worth $1,859,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.
A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its position in Agilent Technologies by 3.5% in the 3rd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 15,589,874 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $2,314,784,000 after buying an additional 525,214 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its position in Agilent Technologies by 1.2% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 12,819,897 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $1,903,498,000 after buying an additional 158,175 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in Agilent Technologies by 0.4% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 6,948,679 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $1,028,241,000 after buying an additional 30,610 shares during the last quarter. Cantillon Capital Management LLC grew its position in Agilent Technologies by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. Cantillon Capital Management LLC now owns 3,316,557 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $445,546,000 after buying an additional 17,627 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Van ECK Associates Corp grew 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 buying an additional 258,358 shares during the last quarter.
Analyst Ratings Changes
A has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Bank of America decreased their target price on shares of Agilent Technologies from $153.00 to $150.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Barclays upgraded shares of Agilent Technologies from an "underweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $135.00 to $145.00 in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on shares of Agilent Technologies from $157.00 to $155.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, December 9th. Citigroup boosted their target price on shares of Agilent Technologies to $165.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. Finally, Robert W. Baird decreased their target price on shares of Agilent Technologies from $161.00 to $159.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $146.15.
Get Our Latest Stock Analysis on A
Agilent Technologies Price Performance
Shares of A traded down $0.83 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $122.27. 1,405,863 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,679,409. 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 company has a 50-day simple moving average of $137.70 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $137.68. Agilent Technologies, Inc. has a 52-week low of $117.17 and a 52-week high of $155.35. The company has a market cap of $34.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.11, a PEG ratio of 3.44 and a beta of 1.11.
Agilent Technologies (NYSE:A - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 26th. The medical research company reported $1.31 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates 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 net margin of 19.27% and a return on equity of 25.56%. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Agilent Technologies, Inc. will post 5.57 EPS for the current fiscal year.
Agilent Technologies Dividend Announcement
The company 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. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 1st. This represents a $0.99 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.81%. Agilent Technologies's payout ratio is currently 22.76%.
Insiders Place Their Bets
In other news, VP Rodney Gonsalves sold 1,908 shares of Agilent Technologies stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $121.98, for a total transaction of $232,737.84. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 21,786 shares in the company, valued at $2,657,456.28. This trade represents a 8.05 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Padraig Mcdonnell sold 1,911 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $150.00, for a total transaction of $286,650.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 39,652 shares in the company, valued at $5,947,800. This represents a 4.60 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here.
Agilent Technologies Company Profile
(
Free Report)
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.
Read More
Before you consider Agilent Technologies, you'll want to hear this.
MarketBeat keeps track of Wall Street's top-rated and best performing research analysts and the stocks they recommend to their clients on a daily basis. MarketBeat has identified the five stocks that top analysts are quietly whispering to their clients to buy now before the broader market catches on... and Agilent Technologies wasn't on the list.
While Agilent Technologies currently has a Hold rating among analysts, top-rated analysts believe these five stocks are better buys.
View The Five Stocks Here
Looking to profit from the electric vehicle mega-trend? Enter your email address and we'll send you our list of which EV stocks show the most long-term potential.
Get This Free Report
