1,349,523 Shares in Agilent Technologies, Inc. $A Bought by Man Group plc

Key Points

• Man Group plc acquired 1,349,523 Agilent Technologies shares worth approximately $179.3 million, representing about 0.48% of the company. Several other institutional investors also initiated or expanded positions during the second quarter.
• Analysts maintain a favorable outlook, with a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $160.24; Barclays and Morgan Stanley recently raised their targets.
• Agilent exceeded quarterly expectations, reporting $1.49 in EPS versus $1.41 expected and revenue of $1.83 billion, up 10% year over year. The stock opened at $154.81, near its 52-week high of $160.51.

Man Group plc bought a new position in shares of Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A - Free Report) in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 1,349,523 shares of the medical research company's stock, valued at approximately $179,257,000. Man Group plc owned about 0.48% of Agilent Technologies at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Jupiter Topco LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Agilent Technologies during the 2nd quarter valued at $15,041,000. Hsbc Holdings PLC increased its position in Agilent Technologies by 8.6% during the 2nd quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 1,185,663 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $157,314,000 after purchasing an additional 93,662 shares during the period. Ancora Advisors LLC bought a new position in Agilent Technologies during the second quarter worth $3,222,000. Primecap Management Co. CA acquired a new position in shares of Agilent Technologies in the 2nd quarter valued at about $176,318,000. Finally, Canada Pension Plan Investment Board acquired a new position in Agilent Technologies in the second quarter valued at approximately $57,724,000.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have weighed in on A. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Agilent Technologies from $145.00 to $150.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 24th. Weiss Ratings raised Agilent Technologies from a "hold (c-)" rating to a "hold (c)" rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 2nd. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on shares of Agilent Technologies from $160.00 to $175.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 12th. Sanford C. Bernstein initiated coverage on Agilent Technologies in a research note on Friday, June 26th. They set an "outperform" rating and a $155.00 price target for the company. Finally, Wolfe Research reaffirmed a "hold" rating on shares of Agilent Technologies in a report on Tuesday, June 2nd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have assigned a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $160.24.

Agilent Technologies Price Performance

A opened at $154.81 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43, a current ratio of 2.10 and a quick ratio of 1.62. Agilent Technologies, Inc. has a 1 year low of $108.35 and a 1 year high of $160.51. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $138.55 and its 200 day simple moving average is $126.47. The firm has a market cap of $43.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.09, a PEG ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 1.25.

Agilent Technologies (NYSE:A - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 27th. The medical research company reported $1.49 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.41 by $0.08. Agilent Technologies had a return on equity of 24.33% and a net margin of 19.55%.The company had revenue of $1.83 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.80 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.31 EPS. Agilent Technologies's revenue was up 10.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts predict that Agilent Technologies, Inc. will post 6.05 earnings per share for the current year.

Agilent Technologies Company Profile

Agilent Technologies is a global provider of scientific instrumentation, consumables, software and services for laboratories across the life sciences, diagnostics and applied chemical markets. The company's product portfolio includes analytical instruments such as liquid and gas chromatographs, mass spectrometers, spectroscopy systems, and laboratory automation solutions, together with reagents, supplies and informatics tools that support measurement, testing and data analysis workflows. Agilent also offers instrument maintenance, qualification and laboratory services designed to help customers improve productivity and comply with regulatory requirements.

Founded as a corporate spin-off from Hewlett‑Packard in 1999, Agilent has evolved through a combination of strategic restructuring and acquisitions to concentrate on life sciences, diagnostics and applied laboratories.

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