Virtu Financial LLC Invests $893,000 in Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A)

Key Points

• Virtu Financial LLC acquired 7,633 shares of Agilent Technologies valued at approximately $893,000 during the first quarter as per a recent SEC filing.
• CEO Padraig Mcdonnell sold 1,508 shares of Agilent stock for $177,099, representing a 3.87% decrease in his ownership of the company's shares.
• Agilent Technologies reported earnings of $1.31 per share for the last quarter, exceeding expectations and reflecting a 6.0% year-over-year revenue growth.

Virtu Financial LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 7,633 shares of the medical research company's stock, valued at approximately $893,000.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. boosted its stake in Agilent Technologies by 13.5% in the 1st quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 36,674 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $4,279,000 after buying an additional 4,362 shares during the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its holdings in shares of Agilent Technologies by 8.3% in the 1st quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 30,827 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $3,606,000 after purchasing an additional 2,371 shares during the period. Alps Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Agilent Technologies by 29.5% in the 1st quarter. Alps Advisors Inc. now owns 13,358 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $1,563,000 after purchasing an additional 3,040 shares during the period. D.A. Davidson & CO. raised its holdings in shares of Agilent Technologies by 30.4% in the 1st quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. now owns 9,474 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $1,108,000 after purchasing an additional 2,207 shares during the period. Finally, Live Oak Investment Partners purchased a new position in shares of Agilent Technologies in the 1st quarter worth about $603,000.

Agilent Technologies Stock Performance

Shares of A traded up $0.43 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $119.30. The stock had a trading volume of 1,238,463 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,971,547. The company has a market cap of $33.89 billion, a PE ratio of 29.46, a PEG ratio of 3.65 and a beta of 1.22. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $117.76 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $118.72. The company has a quick ratio of 1.60, a current ratio of 2.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55. Agilent Technologies, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $96.43 and a fifty-two week high of $153.84.

Agilent Technologies (NYSE:A - Get Free Report) last issued 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 company had revenue of $1.67 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.63 billion. Agilent Technologies had a return on equity of 25.92% and a net margin of 17.59%. The business's revenue was up 6.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.22 EPS. On average, equities analysts expect that Agilent Technologies, Inc. will post 5.58 earnings per share for the current year.

Agilent Technologies Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 23rd. Investors of record on Tuesday, July 1st were given a dividend of $0.248 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, July 1st. This represents a $0.99 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.8%. Agilent Technologies's payout ratio is currently 24.44%.

Insider Transactions at Agilent Technologies

In other Agilent Technologies news, CEO Padraig Mcdonnell sold 1,508 shares of the business's stock in a transaction 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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 37,448 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,397,893.12. The trade was a 3.87% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on A shares. Jefferies Financial Group cut their price objective on Agilent Technologies from $135.00 to $116.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 21st. Wall Street Zen upgraded Agilent Technologies from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Saturday, June 28th. TD Cowen raised their target price on Agilent Technologies to $150.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, May 29th. UBS Group dropped their target price on Agilent Technologies from $150.00 to $130.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, May 29th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on Agilent Technologies from $155.00 to $135.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 17th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Agilent Technologies currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target 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.