ASR Vermogensbeheer N.V. Purchases New Holdings in Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A)

Key Points

• ASR Vermogensbeheer N.V. acquired 55,640 shares of Agilent Technologies, Inc. valued at approximately $6.5 million during the 1st quarter.
• Agilent Technologies reported $1.31 EPS for the quarter, exceeding analysts' estimates of $1.26 and showing a 6.0% revenue increase year-over-year.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.248 per share, representing an annualized dividend of $0.99 with a yield of 0.9%.

ASR Vermogensbeheer N.V. purchased a new position in Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 55,640 shares of the medical research company's stock, valued at approximately $6,508,000.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of A. Redwood Park Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Agilent Technologies in the 4th quarter worth about $27,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC lifted its position in Agilent Technologies by 286.2% in the 1st quarter. Whipplewood Advisors LLC now owns 251 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 186 shares in the last quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. lifted its position in Agilent Technologies by 640.0% in the 4th quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. now owns 222 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 192 shares in the last quarter. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Agilent Technologies during the 1st quarter valued at $31,000. Finally, Wood Tarver Financial Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Agilent Technologies during the fourth quarter worth $34,000.

Agilent Technologies Trading Up 0.6%

A stock traded up $0.71 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $114.69. 1,129,747 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,744,167. Agilent Technologies, Inc. has a one year low of $96.43 and a one year high of $153.84. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55, a quick ratio of 1.60 and a current ratio of 2.09. The company has a market cap of $32.58 billion, a PE ratio of 28.32, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.46 and a beta of 1.22. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $117.39 and its 200-day moving average price is $119.66.

Agilent Technologies (NYSE:A - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, May 28th. The medical research company reported $1.31 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.26 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $1.67 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.63 billion. Agilent Technologies had a net margin of 17.59% and a return on equity of 25.92%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 6.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.22 EPS. Research analysts predict that Agilent Technologies, Inc. will post 5.58 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Agilent Technologies Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 23rd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, July 1st were paid a $0.248 dividend. This represents a $0.99 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.9%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, July 1st. Agilent Technologies's payout ratio is presently 24.44%.

Insider Transactions at Agilent Technologies

In other news, CEO Padraig Mcdonnell sold 1,508 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $117.44, for a total transaction of $177,099.52. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 37,448 shares in the company, valued at $4,397,893.12. This represents a 3.87% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on A. UBS Group cut their price objective on Agilent Technologies from $150.00 to $130.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, May 29th. TD Cowen raised their target price on shares of Agilent Technologies to $150.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on shares of Agilent Technologies from $160.00 to $155.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, May 29th. Robert W. Baird dropped their price objective on Agilent Technologies from $159.00 to $140.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, May 22nd. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group decreased their target price on Agilent Technologies from $135.00 to $116.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 21st. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $139.77.

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.