Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A) Shares Sold by Wellington Management Group LLP

Wellington Management Group LLP cut its stake in shares of Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A - Free Report) by 3.0% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 9,247,024 shares of the medical research company's stock after selling 285,956 shares during the quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP owned approximately 3.22% of Agilent Technologies worth $1,372,998,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Cetera Investment Advisers boosted its stake in shares of Agilent Technologies by 953.3% during the first quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 32,694 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $4,757,000 after purchasing an additional 29,590 shares in the last quarter. Marshall Financial Group LLC acquired a new stake in Agilent Technologies in the second quarter valued at approximately $1,058,000. Van ECK Associates Corp increased its position in shares of Agilent Technologies by 6.6% during the third quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 2,976,905 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $442,011,000 after purchasing an additional 183,716 shares in the last quarter. AXA S.A. lifted its holdings in shares of Agilent Technologies by 32.3% during the 2nd quarter. AXA S.A. now owns 362,945 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $47,049,000 after purchasing an additional 88,667 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Vestal Point Capital LP acquired a new position in Agilent Technologies during the 3rd quarter valued at about $14,848,000.

Insider Activity

In related news, SVP Dominique Grau sold 9,990 shares of Agilent Technologies stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $145.00, for a total transaction of $1,448,550.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 40,011 shares in the company, valued at $5,801,595. The trade was a 19.98 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink.

Agilent Technologies Stock Performance

A traded up $2.71 on Friday, reaching $140.58. The company had a trading volume of 1,298,025 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,115,917. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $137.38 and a 200-day moving average price of $136.97. The company has a quick ratio of 1.58, a current ratio of 2.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57. Agilent Technologies, Inc. has a 1 year low of $124.16 and a 1 year high of $155.35. The stock has a market capitalization of $40.39 billion, a PE ratio of 31.80, a P/E/G ratio of 4.45 and a beta of 1.07.

Agilent Technologies (NYSE:A - Get Free Report) last issued 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 firm 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 revenue for the quarter was up .8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.38 EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that Agilent Technologies, Inc. will post 5.56 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Agilent Technologies Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 22nd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st will be paid a dividend of $0.248 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, December 31st. This is a boost 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 0.71%. Agilent Technologies's dividend payout ratio is 21.27%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on the company. Barclays decreased their target price on Agilent Technologies from $145.00 to $135.00 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, November 27th. Wells Fargo & Company started coverage on shares of Agilent Technologies in a research note on Tuesday, August 27th. They issued an "overweight" rating and a $157.00 price objective on the stock. Sanford C. Bernstein lowered their price target on shares of Agilent Technologies from $140.00 to $135.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, November 26th. TD Cowen boosted their price objective on Agilent Technologies from $153.00 to $160.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, August 22nd. Finally, Citigroup raised 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. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Agilent Technologies currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $143.40.

Agilent Technologies Company 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.