AtonRa Partners Sells 206 Shares of Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A)

AtonRa Partners reduced its position in Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A) by 8.8% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 2,122 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 206 shares during the quarter. AtonRa Partners’ holdings in Agilent Technologies were worth $295,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of A. Victory Capital Management Inc. raised its stake in Agilent Technologies by 939.8% during the third quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 2,296,512 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $256,796,000 after acquiring an additional 2,075,649 shares in the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB raised its stake in Agilent Technologies by 233.7% during the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 2,666,416 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $370,552,000 after acquiring an additional 1,867,377 shares in the last quarter. Meritage Group LP acquired a new position in Agilent Technologies during the third quarter worth $184,437,000. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its stake in Agilent Technologies by 17.4% during the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 10,255,526 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $1,146,773,000 after acquiring an additional 1,519,134 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Van ECK Associates Corp raised its stake in Agilent Technologies by 120.8% during the third quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 2,596,227 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $290,310,000 after acquiring an additional 1,420,430 shares in the last quarter.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Oppenheimer raised their target price on Agilent Technologies from $67.00 to $90.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 26th. Stifel Nicolaus upgraded Agilent Technologies from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $145.00 to $163.00 in a research report on Friday, April 5th. UBS Group lifted their price objective on Agilent Technologies from $130.00 to $155.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 28th. Citigroup lifted their price objective on Agilent Technologies from $130.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 28th. Finally, Barclays lifted their price objective on Agilent Technologies from $125.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 10th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $141.29.

Agilent Technologies Stock Performance

Shares of A stock traded up $1.85 during trading on Monday, reaching $139.59. 781,121 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,552,781. The company has a quick ratio of 2.04, a current ratio of 2.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41. The stock has a market capitalization of $40.91 billion, a PE ratio of 32.80, a PEG ratio of 4.17 and a beta of 1.11. Agilent Technologies, Inc. has a twelve month low of $96.80 and a twelve month high of $151.58. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $141.59 and its 200-day moving average price is $130.80.

Agilent Technologies (NYSE:A) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, February 27th. The medical research company reported $1.29 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.22 by $0.07. The business had revenue of $1.66 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.59 billion. Agilent Technologies had a return on equity of 27.09% and a net margin of 18.35%. The firm’s revenue was down 5.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.37 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Agilent Technologies, Inc. will post 5.5 EPS for the current year.

Agilent Technologies Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 24th. Investors of record on Tuesday, April 2nd were paid a $0.236 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, April 1st. This represents a $0.94 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.68%. Agilent Technologies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 22.38%.

Insider Activity at Agilent Technologies

In related news, VP Rodney Gonsalves sold 4,828 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $149.00, for a total value of $719,372.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 21,329 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,178,021. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, Director Heidi Fields sold 1,658 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $144.34, for a total value of $239,315.72. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 54,976 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,935,235.84. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, VP Rodney Gonsalves sold 4,828 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $149.00, for a total value of $719,372.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 21,329 shares in the company, valued at $3,178,021. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 61,610 shares of company stock worth $9,220,333 in the last ninety days.

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.