Czech National Bank Boosts Stake in Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A)

Czech National Bank boosted its stake in shares of Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A - Free Report) by 5.2% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 65,526 shares of the medical research company's stock after acquiring an additional 3,227 shares during the quarter. Czech National Bank's holdings in Agilent Technologies were worth $7,665,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Rhumbline Advisers grew its holdings in Agilent Technologies by 2.7% during the 1st quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 569,011 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $66,563,000 after purchasing an additional 15,137 shares during the last quarter. S.E.E.D. Planning Group LLC boosted its position in shares of Agilent Technologies by 115.2% during the first quarter. S.E.E.D. Planning Group LLC now owns 91,633 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $10,719,000 after buying an additional 49,046 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its position in shares of Agilent Technologies by 15,648.1% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 627,247 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $73,375,000 after buying an additional 623,264 shares during the period. Legacy Wealth Management LLC MS purchased a new stake in shares of Agilent Technologies in the first quarter worth approximately $3,182,000. Finally, 111 Capital bought a new stake in shares of Agilent Technologies during the 4th quarter worth approximately $668,000.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on Agilent Technologies from $155.00 to $135.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 17th. UBS Group lowered their target price on shares of Agilent Technologies from $150.00 to $130.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 29th. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price target on shares of Agilent Technologies from $135.00 to $116.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 21st. Leerink Partners lifted their price objective on shares of Agilent Technologies to $135.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, May 30th. Finally, Robert W. Baird dropped their target price on shares of Agilent Technologies from $159.00 to $140.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, May 22nd. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $140.15.

Agilent Technologies Stock Down 0.9%

NYSE:A traded down $1.06 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $113.88. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,845,345 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,921,224. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $108.11 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $126.10. 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 capitalization of $32.47 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.12, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.42 and a beta of 1.23. Agilent Technologies, Inc. has a 12 month low of $96.43 and a 12 month high of $153.84.

Agilent Technologies (NYSE:A - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly 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 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 for the quarter was up 6.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.22 EPS. Equities analysts predict that Agilent Technologies, Inc. will post 5.58 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Agilent Technologies Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 23rd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, July 1st will be given a dividend of $0.248 per share. This represents a $0.99 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.87%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, July 1st. Agilent Technologies's payout ratio is 24.44%.

Insider Activity

In other Agilent Technologies news, Director Daniel K. Podolsky sold 1,819 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $116.46, for a total value of $211,840.74. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 35,737 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,161,931.02. This trade represents a 4.84% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, VP Rodney Gonsalves sold 1,908 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $121.98, for a total value of $232,737.84. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 21,786 shares in the company, valued at $2,657,456.28. The trade was a 8.05% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here.

About Agilent Technologies

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.