Violich Capital Management Inc. Buys Shares of 1,880 Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A)

Violich Capital Management Inc. bought a new position in Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm bought 1,880 shares of the medical research company's stock, valued at approximately $253,000.

Several other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its holdings in shares of Agilent Technologies by 3.5% during the 3rd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 15,589,874 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $2,314,784,000 after purchasing an additional 525,214 shares during the period. FMR LLC increased its holdings in shares of Agilent Technologies by 62.2% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,287,665 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $191,193,000 after purchasing an additional 493,947 shares during the period. Worldquant Millennium Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Agilent Technologies during the 3rd quarter valued at about $49,449,000. Jennison Associates LLC boosted its position in shares of Agilent Technologies by 63.3% during the 3rd quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 586,439 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $87,075,000 after acquiring an additional 227,431 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ilex Capital Partners UK LLP acquired a new stake in shares of Agilent Technologies during the 3rd quarter valued at about $33,087,000.

Agilent Technologies Price Performance

Shares of NYSE A traded down $1.88 during trading on Friday, reaching $134.57. The company had a trading volume of 1,358,730 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,665,141. Agilent Technologies, Inc. has a 52 week low of $124.16 and a 52 week high of $155.35. The stock has a market cap of $38.39 billion, a PE ratio of 30.45, a PEG ratio of 4.00 and a beta of 1.07. 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 business's 50 day moving average price is $141.65 and its 200-day moving average price is $139.43.

Agilent Technologies (NYSE:A - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Monday, November 25th. The medical research company reported $1.46 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.41 by $0.05. Agilent Technologies had a net margin of 19.80% and a return on equity of 25.43%. The company had revenue of $1.70 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.67 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.38 earnings per share. The company's revenue was up .8% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts expect that Agilent Technologies, Inc. will post 5.56 earnings per share 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 paid a $0.248 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, December 31st. This is an increase from Agilent Technologies's previous quarterly dividend of $0.24. This represents a $0.99 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.74%. Agilent Technologies's payout ratio is currently 22.40%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on A. 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 lifted their target price on shares of Agilent Technologies to $165.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Agilent Technologies from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on shares of Agilent Technologies from $165.00 to $160.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, November 26th. Finally, 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. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Agilent Technologies presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $144.38.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Padraig Mcdonnell sold 1,911 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $150.00, for a total transaction of $286,650.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 39,652 shares of the company's stock, valued at $5,947,800. The trade was a 4.60 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link.

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.