Two Sigma Investments LP Grows Position in Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A)

Two Sigma Investments LP increased its stake in shares of Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A - Free Report) by 345.9% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 769,897 shares of the medical research company's stock after purchasing an additional 597,249 shares during the period. Two Sigma Investments LP owned approximately 0.27% of Agilent Technologies worth $103,428,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Tidal Investments LLC increased its holdings in Agilent Technologies by 8.9% during the 4th quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 16,058 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $2,157,000 after purchasing an additional 1,306 shares in the last quarter. Teza Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Agilent Technologies in the 4th quarter valued at about $900,000. True Wealth Design LLC grew its holdings in Agilent Technologies by 3,450.0% during the fourth quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 355 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $48,000 after purchasing an additional 345 shares during the period. Strategic Global Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Agilent Technologies by 4.2% in the fourth quarter. Strategic Global Advisors LLC now owns 24,591 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $3,304,000 after buying an additional 999 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Toronto Dominion Bank boosted its stake in shares of Agilent Technologies by 5.8% during the 4th quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank now owns 153,898 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $20,674,000 after acquiring an additional 8,420 shares during the period.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently commented on the stock. Robert W. Baird decreased their price target 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. Wells Fargo & Company reduced 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. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price target 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. TD Cowen increased their price objective on shares of Agilent Technologies to $135.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 10th. Finally, Barclays dropped their target price on shares of Agilent Technologies from $138.00 to $115.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 10th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $141.42.

Agilent Technologies Trading Down 1.0%

Shares of NYSE:A traded down $1.07 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $108.61. 1,259,410 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,921,328. The business's 50-day moving average price is $109.72 and its 200 day moving average price is $127.55. Agilent Technologies, Inc. has a 12 month low of $96.43 and a 12 month high of $153.84. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56, a quick ratio of 1.66 and a current ratio of 2.20. The stock has a market capitalization of $30.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.97, a P/E/G ratio of 3.07 and a beta of 1.27.

Agilent Technologies (NYSE:A - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 26th. The medical research company reported $1.31 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.27 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $1.68 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.67 billion. Agilent Technologies had a net margin of 19.27% and a return on equity of 25.56%. Analysts predict that Agilent Technologies, Inc. will post 5.54 earnings per share for the current year.

Agilent Technologies Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 23rd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, July 1st will be paid a $0.248 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, July 1st. This represents a $0.99 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.91%. Agilent Technologies's payout ratio is 22.76%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Agilent Technologies news, Director Daniel K. Podolsky sold 1,819 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $116.46, for a total value of $211,840.74. Following the transaction, the director now owns 35,737 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,161,931.02. This represents a 4.84% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, VP Rodney Gonsalves sold 1,908 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 17th. The shares were 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 of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,657,456.28. This represents a 8.05% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here.

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.