Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A) Shares Bought by J. Safra Sarasin Holding AG

Key Points

• J. Safra Sarasin Holding AG has increased its stake in Agilent Technologies by 57% in Q1, owning approximately 0.09% of the company valued at $29.16 million after acquiring an additional 90,558 shares.
• Several hedge funds have raised their holdings in Agilent Technologies, with Pictet Asset Management increasing its position by 2.5% to 5.34 million shares, valued at $624.89 million.
• The company reported $1.31 EPS for the last quarter, exceeding analyst expectations, with a projected current year EPS of $5.58.

J. Safra Sarasin Holding AG increased its position in shares of Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A - Free Report) by 57.0% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 249,294 shares of the medical research company's stock after acquiring an additional 90,558 shares during the quarter. J. Safra Sarasin Holding AG owned about 0.09% of Agilent Technologies worth $29,162,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of A. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its stake in shares of Agilent Technologies by 15,648.1% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 627,247 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $73,375,000 after acquiring an additional 623,264 shares during the period. Two Sigma Investments LP boosted its holdings in Agilent Technologies by 345.9% during the fourth quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP now owns 769,897 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $103,428,000 after buying an additional 597,249 shares in the last quarter. Iron Triangle Partners LP purchased a new stake in Agilent Technologies during the fourth quarter worth $80,110,000. Marshall Wace LLP boosted its holdings in Agilent Technologies by 280.3% during the fourth quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 806,895 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $108,398,000 after buying an additional 594,744 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mackenzie Financial Corp boosted its holdings in Agilent Technologies by 141.5% during the first quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 935,893 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $109,481,000 after buying an additional 548,344 shares in the last quarter.

Agilent Technologies Trading Down 1.1%

Agilent Technologies stock traded down $1.30 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $113.51. 1,888,639 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,875,311. Agilent Technologies, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $96.43 and a fifty-two week high of $153.84. The stock has a market capitalization of $32.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.03, a PEG ratio of 3.44 and a beta of 1.22. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $117.08 and its 200 day simple moving average is $120.47. 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 (NYSE:A - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 28th. The medical research company reported $1.31 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.26 by $0.05. Agilent Technologies had a net margin of 17.59% and a return on equity of 25.92%. The business had revenue of $1.67 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.63 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.22 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 6.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Agilent Technologies, Inc. will post 5.58 EPS for the current year.

Agilent Technologies Announces Dividend

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

Insider Activity at Agilent Technologies

In other news, CEO Padraig Mcdonnell sold 1,508 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $117.44, for a total value of $177,099.52. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 37,448 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,397,893.12. This trade represents a 3.87% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Barclays increased their price target on shares of Agilent Technologies from $115.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Tuesday, June 24th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on shares of Agilent Technologies from $155.00 to $135.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 17th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Agilent Technologies from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Saturday, June 28th. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their price objective on shares of Agilent Technologies from $135.00 to $116.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 21st. Finally, TD Cowen increased their price objective on shares of Agilent Technologies to $150.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, May 29th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company 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.