Dimensional Fund Advisors LP Has $154.56 Million Stock Holdings in Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A)

Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its stake in Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A - Free Report) by 4.5% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,150,499 shares of the medical research company's stock after purchasing an additional 49,833 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP owned approximately 0.40% of Agilent Technologies worth $154,562,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. SkyView Investment Advisors LLC boosted its position in Agilent Technologies by 5.2% in the 3rd quarter. SkyView Investment Advisors LLC now owns 3,615 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $537,000 after buying an additional 178 shares during the last quarter. World Investment Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Agilent Technologies by 4.7% during the 3rd quarter. World Investment Advisors LLC now owns 4,466 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $663,000 after purchasing an additional 201 shares during the last quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB acquired a new position in shares of Agilent Technologies in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $535,000. Tidal Investments LLC grew its position in shares of Agilent Technologies by 8.2% during the third quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 14,752 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $2,187,000 after buying an additional 1,113 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dudley & Shanley Inc. acquired a new stake in Agilent Technologies in the third quarter valued at $8,300,000.

Agilent Technologies Stock Performance

A stock traded up $0.14 on Wednesday, reaching $107.60. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,452,192 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,877,271. Agilent Technologies, Inc. has a 52 week low of $96.43 and a 52 week high of $155.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56, a current ratio of 2.20 and a quick ratio of 1.66. The company has a market capitalization of $30.68 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.74, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.01 and a beta of 1.19. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $114.66 and a two-hundred day moving average of $130.34.

Agilent Technologies (NYSE:A - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 26th. The medical research company reported $1.31 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.27 by $0.04. Agilent Technologies had a return on equity of 25.56% and a net margin of 19.27%. The company had revenue of $1.68 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.67 billion. As a group, analysts predict that Agilent Technologies, Inc. will post 5.54 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Agilent Technologies Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 23rd. Investors of record on Tuesday, April 1st were issued a dividend of $0.248 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, April 1st. This represents a $0.99 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.92%. Agilent Technologies's payout ratio is 22.76%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on A shares. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on shares of Agilent Technologies from $155.00 to $135.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. Barclays decreased their target price on Agilent Technologies from $138.00 to $115.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 10th. Robert W. Baird reduced their price objective on Agilent Technologies from $161.00 to $159.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. TD Cowen increased their target price on shares of Agilent Technologies to $135.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, April 10th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group decreased their price target on shares of Agilent Technologies from $135.00 to $116.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 21st. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Agilent Technologies has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $143.00.

Insider Buying and Selling at Agilent Technologies

In related news, Director Daniel K. Podolsky sold 1,819 shares of Agilent Technologies stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $116.46, for a total value of $211,840.74. Following the transaction, the director now owns 35,737 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,161,931.02. This trade represents a 4.84 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, VP Rodney Gonsalves sold 1,908 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owns 21,786 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,657,456.28. This represents a 8.05 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here.

About Agilent Technologies

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.