Pictet Asset Management Holding SA Has $624.89 Million Stock Position in Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A)

Pictet Asset Management Holding SA boosted its position in shares of Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A - Free Report) by 2.5% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 5,341,870 shares of the medical research company's stock after buying an additional 128,131 shares during the quarter. Agilent Technologies accounts for approximately 0.7% of Pictet Asset Management Holding SA's investment portfolio, making the stock its 27th largest position. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA owned approximately 1.87% of Agilent Technologies worth $624,888,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Redwood Park Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Agilent Technologies during the fourth quarter valued at $27,000. Lee Danner & Bass Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Agilent Technologies during the fourth quarter valued at $29,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Agilent Technologies by 286.2% during the first quarter. Whipplewood Advisors LLC now owns 251 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 186 shares during the last quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Agilent Technologies by 640.0% during the fourth quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. now owns 222 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 192 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Opal Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Agilent Technologies during the first quarter valued at $31,000.

Agilent Technologies Stock Down 0.7%

A stock traded down $0.76 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $113.23. The stock had a trading volume of 555,753 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,857,061. The company has a current ratio of 2.09, a quick ratio of 1.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55. Agilent Technologies, Inc. has a 1-year low of $96.43 and a 1-year high of $153.84. The company has a fifty day moving average of $116.04 and a 200 day moving average of $122.00. The stock has a market capitalization of $32.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.94, a PEG ratio of 3.46 and a beta of 1.23.

Agilent Technologies (NYSE:A - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, May 28th. The medical research company reported $1.31 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.26 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $1.67 billion for 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% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.22 EPS. On average, equities analysts expect that Agilent Technologies, Inc. will post 5.58 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Agilent Technologies Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 23rd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, July 1st will be issued a dividend of $0.248 per share. This represents a $0.99 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.88%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, July 1st. Agilent Technologies's dividend payout ratio is 24.44%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on A shares. Evercore ISI increased their price objective on Agilent Technologies from $125.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock an "in-line" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 8th. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price objective 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. UBS Group reduced their price objective on Agilent Technologies from $150.00 to $130.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 29th. Robert W. Baird reduced their price objective on Agilent Technologies from $159.00 to $140.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 22nd. Finally, TD Cowen increased their price objective on Agilent Technologies to $150.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 29th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Agilent Technologies currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $139.77.

Insider Activity at Agilent Technologies

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

Agilent Technologies 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.