Bank of America Corp DE Lowers Stake in Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A)

Bank of America Corp DE cut its stake in Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A - Free Report) by 11.2% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,562,622 shares of the medical research company's stock after selling 197,458 shares during the quarter. Bank of America Corp DE owned approximately 0.55% of Agilent Technologies worth $209,923,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. CKW Financial Group increased its position in Agilent Technologies by 114.9% during the fourth quarter. CKW Financial Group now owns 187 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. Global X Japan Co. Ltd. lifted its stake in Agilent Technologies by 161.1% during the fourth quarter. Global X Japan Co. Ltd. now owns 188 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 116 shares during the period. Redwood Park Advisors LLC bought a new position in Agilent Technologies during the fourth quarter worth about $27,000. Lee Danner & Bass Inc. bought a new position in Agilent Technologies during the fourth quarter worth about $29,000. Finally, Hanson & Doremus Investment Management increased its holdings in shares of Agilent Technologies by 66.5% during the fourth quarter. Hanson & Doremus Investment Management now owns 263 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $35,000 after buying an additional 105 shares in the last quarter.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Agilent Technologies news, Director Daniel K. Podolsky sold 1,819 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $116.46, for a total value of $211,840.74. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 35,737 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,161,931.02. The trade was a 4.84% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, VP Rodney Gonsalves sold 1,908 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on 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 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.

Agilent Technologies Stock Up 8.0%

A traded up $8.60 during trading on Monday, hitting $115.53. The company had a trading volume of 2,873,099 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,890,939. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $111.53 and its 200 day moving average price is $128.76. 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 one year low of $96.43 and a one year high of $155.35. The company has a market capitalization of $32.94 billion, a PE ratio of 26.56, a PEG ratio of 3.01 and a beta of 1.27.

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

Agilent Technologies Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 23rd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, April 1st were issued a dividend of $0.248 per share. This represents a $0.99 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.86%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, April 1st. Agilent Technologies's dividend payout ratio is currently 22.76%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

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.