Ensign Peak Advisors Inc lifted its holdings in Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A - Free Report) by 370.0% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 124,575 shares of the medical research company's stock after purchasing an additional 98,068 shares during the quarter. Ensign Peak Advisors Inc's holdings in Agilent Technologies were worth $16,735,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.
Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Sienna Gestion grew its position in shares of Agilent Technologies by 29.8% in the 4th quarter. Sienna Gestion now owns 78,445 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $10,537,000 after purchasing an additional 17,991 shares during the period. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC boosted its position in Agilent Technologies by 8.5% during the 4th quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 33,898 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $4,554,000 after acquiring an additional 2,664 shares during the last quarter. S.E.E.D. Planning Group LLC boosted its position in Agilent Technologies by 12.7% during the 4th quarter. S.E.E.D. Planning Group LLC now owns 42,587 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $5,721,000 after acquiring an additional 4,805 shares during the last quarter. Prudential PLC boosted its position in Agilent Technologies by 16.0% during the 4th quarter. Prudential PLC now owns 73,273 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $9,843,000 after acquiring an additional 10,128 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Commonwealth Equity Services LLC boosted its position in Agilent Technologies by 9.8% during the 4th quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 43,862 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $5,892,000 after acquiring an additional 3,915 shares during the last quarter.
Insider Activity at Agilent Technologies
In other news, VP Rodney Gonsalves sold 1,908 shares of Agilent Technologies stock in a transaction 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 completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 21,786 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,657,456.28. This trade represents a 8.05% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Daniel K. Podolsky sold 1,819 shares of Agilent Technologies 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 sale, the director now directly owns 35,737 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,161,931.02. This represents a 4.84% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here.
Agilent Technologies Stock Performance
A traded up $1.36 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $113.76. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,811,948 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,904,117. Agilent Technologies, Inc. has a 52 week low of $96.43 and a 52 week high of $154.95. The company's 50-day moving average is $110.44 and its 200-day moving average is $128.17. 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 $32.43 billion, a PE ratio of 26.15, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.17 and a beta of 1.27.
Agilent Technologies (NYSE:A - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results 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. 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. On average, equities analysts forecast that Agilent Technologies, Inc. will post 5.54 EPS for the current year.
Agilent Technologies Dividend Announcement
The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 23rd. Investors of record on Tuesday, April 1st were paid a $0.248 dividend. This represents a $0.99 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.87%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, April 1st. Agilent Technologies's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 22.76%.
Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth
A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the company. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price target 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. TD Cowen upped their price target on Agilent Technologies to $135.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 10th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target 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. Barclays reduced their price target on 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. Finally, Robert W. Baird decreased their target price on shares of Agilent Technologies from $161.00 to $159.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $143.00.
View Our Latest Analysis on Agilent Technologies
About Agilent Technologies
(
Free Report)
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.
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