Brown Advisory Inc. Reduces Stake in Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A)

Brown Advisory Inc. decreased its position in shares of Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A - Free Report) by 11.4% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 3,153,419 shares of the medical research company's stock after selling 405,371 shares during the period. Brown Advisory Inc. owned approximately 1.11% of Agilent Technologies worth $423,630,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. CKW Financial Group grew its position in Agilent Technologies by 114.9% in the fourth quarter. CKW Financial Group now owns 187 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. Global X Japan Co. Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of Agilent Technologies by 161.1% in the 4th 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 shares of Agilent Technologies during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Lee Danner & Bass Inc. purchased a new stake in Agilent Technologies during the 4th quarter valued at $29,000. Finally, Hanson & Doremus Investment Management lifted its position in Agilent Technologies by 66.5% in 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 during the last quarter. 87.42% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Agilent Technologies

In related news, VP Rodney Gonsalves sold 1,908 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $121.98, for a total value of $232,737.84. Following the completion of 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 sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Daniel K. Podolsky sold 1,819 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $116.46, for a total transaction of $211,840.74. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 35,737 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,161,931.02. This represents a 4.84 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.26% of the company's stock.

Agilent Technologies Stock Down 1.0 %

Agilent Technologies stock traded down $1.12 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $107.58. 743,479 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,883,684. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56, a quick ratio of 1.66 and a current ratio of 2.20. The firm has a market cap of $30.67 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.73, a PEG ratio of 3.03 and a beta of 1.27. The business has a fifty day moving average of $111.85 and a 200 day moving average of $128.99. Agilent Technologies, Inc. has a 12-month low of $96.43 and a 12-month high of $155.35.

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 analysts' consensus estimates of $1.27 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $1.68 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.67 billion. Agilent Technologies had a return on equity of 25.56% and a net margin of 19.27%. Research analysts anticipate that Agilent Technologies, Inc. will post 5.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Agilent Technologies Dividend Announcement

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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