AQR Capital Management LLC Buys 120,725 Shares of Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A)

AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A - Free Report) by 38.6% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 433,313 shares of the medical research company's stock after buying an additional 120,725 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC owned about 0.15% of Agilent Technologies worth $58,211,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Perbak Capital Partners LLP bought a new stake in shares of Agilent Technologies in the 4th quarter valued at about $1,172,000. 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 valued at $563,259,000 after purchasing an additional 457,713 shares during the period. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Agilent Technologies by 11.6% in the fourth quarter. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. now owns 4,999 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $672,000 after purchasing an additional 520 shares during the last quarter. Nebula Research & Development LLC raised its holdings in Agilent Technologies by 100.3% during the 4th quarter. Nebula Research & Development LLC now owns 7,696 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $1,034,000 after buying an additional 3,854 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Lord Abbett & CO. LLC bought a new stake in Agilent Technologies during the 4th quarter valued at $18,911,000.

Insider Transactions at Agilent Technologies

In other Agilent Technologies news, Director Daniel K. Podolsky sold 1,819 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, March 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $116.46, for a total value of $211,840.74. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 35,737 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,161,931.02. This represents a 4.84 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, VP Rodney Gonsalves sold 1,908 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $121.98, for a total value of $232,737.84. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 21,786 shares in the company, valued at approximately $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.

Agilent Technologies Stock Down 2.9 %

Shares of A stock traded down $3.18 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $105.19. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,210,060 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,879,503. The stock has a market cap of $29.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.21, a PEG ratio of 3.06 and a beta of 1.27. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56, a quick ratio of 1.66 and a current ratio of 2.20. Agilent Technologies, Inc. has a 52-week low of $96.43 and a 52-week high of $155.35. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $113.05 and a 200 day moving average price of $129.50.

Agilent Technologies (NYSE:A - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 26th. The medical research company reported $1.31 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.27 by $0.04. Agilent Technologies had a net margin of 19.27% and a return on equity of 25.56%. 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 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Agilent Technologies Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 23rd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, April 1st were paid a dividend of $0.248 per share. This represents a $0.99 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.94%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, April 1st. Agilent Technologies's dividend payout ratio is presently 22.76%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

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.