Invesco LLC Acquires 2,460 Shares of Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A)

Invesco LLC increased its position in shares of Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A - Free Report) by 11.4% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 24,062 shares of the medical research company's stock after purchasing an additional 2,460 shares during the period. Agilent Technologies comprises about 1.2% of Invesco LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 24th largest position. Invesco LLC's holdings in Agilent Technologies were worth $2,815,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Sienna Gestion grew its position in Agilent Technologies by 29.8% in the fourth quarter. Sienna Gestion now owns 78,445 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $10,537,000 after acquiring an additional 17,991 shares during the period. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Agilent Technologies by 8.5% during the 4th quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 33,898 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $4,554,000 after purchasing an additional 2,664 shares in the last quarter. Prudential PLC lifted its holdings in Agilent Technologies by 16.0% during the 4th quarter. Prudential PLC now owns 73,273 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $9,843,000 after purchasing an additional 10,128 shares during the last quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC boosted its position in Agilent Technologies by 9.8% in the fourth quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 43,862 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $5,892,000 after buying an additional 3,915 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Daiwa Securities Group Inc. grew its stake in Agilent Technologies by 16.0% during the fourth quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 49,288 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $6,621,000 after buying an additional 6,802 shares during the last quarter. 87.42% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Robert W. Baird cut their target price on shares of Agilent Technologies from $159.00 to $140.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 22nd. Leerink Partners lifted their price objective on Agilent Technologies to $135.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, May 30th. Barclays boosted their price objective on Agilent Technologies from $115.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Tuesday. TD Cowen raised their target price on Agilent Technologies to $150.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 29th. Finally, UBS Group reduced their price target on shares of Agilent Technologies from $150.00 to $130.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, May 29th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Agilent Technologies has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $140.92.

Insider Buying and Selling at Agilent Technologies

In other news, Director Daniel K. Podolsky sold 1,819 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $116.46, for a total transaction of $211,840.74. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 35,737 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,161,931.02. This represents a 4.84% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.26% of the company's stock.

Agilent Technologies Trading Up 1.4%

NYSE A traded up $1.58 on Tuesday, reaching $117.71. The company had a trading volume of 1,847,927 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,892,431. Agilent Technologies, Inc. has a 52 week low of $96.43 and a 52 week high of $153.84. The stock's 50 day moving average is $110.89 and its 200-day moving average is $124.33. The company has a quick ratio of 1.60, a current ratio of 2.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55. The stock has a market cap of $33.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.06, a PEG ratio of 3.51 and a beta of 1.23.

Agilent Technologies (NYSE:A - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data 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. 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.63 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.22 EPS. Agilent Technologies's quarterly revenue was up 6.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts predict that Agilent Technologies, Inc. will post 5.58 earnings per share for the current year.

Agilent Technologies Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 23rd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, July 1st will be issued a dividend of $0.248 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, July 1st. This represents a $0.99 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.84%. Agilent Technologies's dividend payout ratio is presently 24.44%.

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.