BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S Lowers Stake in Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A)

BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S decreased its position in shares of Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A - Free Report) by 35.0% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 11,997 shares of the medical research company's stock after selling 6,469 shares during the period. BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S's holdings in Agilent Technologies were worth $1,612,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. CKW Financial Group boosted its position in shares of Agilent Technologies by 114.9% in the 4th quarter. CKW Financial Group now owns 187 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. Global X Japan Co. Ltd. increased its position in shares of 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 valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 116 shares in the last quarter. Redwood Park Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Agilent Technologies in the 4th quarter worth approximately $27,000. Lee Danner & Bass Inc. purchased a new position in Agilent Technologies in the 4th quarter worth approximately $29,000. Finally, Hanson & Doremus Investment Management lifted its position in Agilent Technologies by 66.5% in the 4th quarter. Hanson & Doremus Investment Management now owns 263 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $35,000 after acquiring an additional 105 shares in the last quarter.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

Insider Activity at Agilent Technologies

In other Agilent Technologies news, VP Rodney Gonsalves sold 1,908 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 17th. The stock was 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 in the company, valued at $2,657,456.28. This represents a 8.05 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Daniel K. Podolsky sold 1,819 shares of Agilent Technologies stock in a transaction that occurred 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 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here.

Agilent Technologies Stock Performance

Agilent Technologies stock traded up $0.06 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $106.34. The stock had a trading volume of 283,446 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,868,602. The firm's fifty day moving average is $116.40 and its two-hundred day moving average is $130.92. The company has a current ratio of 2.20, a quick ratio of 1.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56. The company has a market capitalization of $30.32 billion, a PE ratio of 24.49, a P/E/G ratio of 3.00 and a beta of 1.19. Agilent Technologies, Inc. has a 52-week low of $96.43 and a 52-week high of $155.35.

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

Agilent Technologies Announces Dividend

The company 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. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, April 1st. This represents a $0.99 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.93%. Agilent Technologies's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 22.76%.

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.