Comerica Bank Cuts Stock Holdings in Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A)

Comerica Bank lowered its holdings in Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A - Free Report) by 6.5% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 53,582 shares of the medical research company's stock after selling 3,722 shares during the quarter. Comerica Bank's holdings in Agilent Technologies were worth $7,198,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Agilent Technologies in the fourth quarter valued at $456,963,000. Madison Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Agilent Technologies in the fourth quarter valued at about $94,051,000. Marshall Wace LLP raised its holdings in shares of Agilent Technologies by 280.3% in the fourth quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 806,895 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $108,398,000 after buying an additional 594,744 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp boosted its stake in shares of Agilent Technologies by 12.3% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 4,192,790 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $563,259,000 after buying an additional 457,713 shares during the period. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Agilent Technologies during the fourth quarter worth about $48,172,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.42% of the company's stock.

Agilent Technologies Trading Down 0.7 %

Agilent Technologies stock traded down $0.80 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $107.90. 443,067 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,882,358. The company has a quick ratio of 1.66, a current ratio of 2.20 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56. Agilent Technologies, Inc. has a twelve month low of $96.43 and a twelve month high of $155.35. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $111.85 and its 200 day simple moving average is $128.99. The firm has a market capitalization of $30.76 billion, a PE ratio of 24.80, a PEG ratio of 3.03 and a beta of 1.27.

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, beating 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 business had revenue of $1.68 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.67 billion. Research analysts predict that Agilent Technologies, Inc. will post 5.54 earnings per share for the current year.

Agilent Technologies Dividend Announcement

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

Insider Transactions at Agilent Technologies

In other Agilent Technologies news, Director Daniel K. Podolsky sold 1,819 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $116.46, for a total transaction of $211,840.74. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 35,737 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,161,931.02. This trade represents a 4.84 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, VP Rodney Gonsalves sold 1,908 shares of the 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 transaction, the vice president now directly owns 21,786 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,657,456.28. This trade represents a 8.05 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.26% of the company's stock.

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.