KBC Group NV Decreases Stake in Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A)

KBC Group NV trimmed its holdings in Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A - Free Report) by 16.9% in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 68,427 shares of the medical research company's stock after selling 13,911 shares during the period. KBC Group NV's holdings in Agilent Technologies were worth $8,004,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of A. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its stake in Agilent Technologies by 0.6% during the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 9,306,805 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $1,250,276,000 after buying an additional 59,781 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Agilent Technologies by 0.8% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 7,002,671 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $938,291,000 after acquiring an additional 53,992 shares during the last quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA boosted its position in shares of Agilent Technologies by 0.9% during the 4th quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA now owns 5,213,739 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $700,414,000 after acquiring an additional 47,495 shares during the last quarter. Deutsche Bank AG grew its holdings in shares of Agilent Technologies by 0.9% in the fourth quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 4,436,700 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $596,026,000 after purchasing an additional 38,348 shares during the period. Finally, Northern Trust Corp grew its holdings in shares of Agilent Technologies by 12.3% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 4,192,790 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $563,259,000 after purchasing an additional 457,713 shares during the period.

Agilent Technologies Trading Up 0.4%

A stock traded up $0.50 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $121.16. 944,958 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,846,516. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $34.42 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.91, a PEG ratio of 3.68 and a beta of 1.23. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $113.79 and a 200-day simple moving average of $123.21. 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 announced 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. Agilent Technologies had a net margin of 17.59% and a return on equity of 25.92%. The company had revenue of $1.67 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.63 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.22 earnings per share. Agilent Technologies's revenue was up 6.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts predict that Agilent Technologies, Inc. will post 5.58 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Agilent Technologies Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed 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. This represents a $0.99 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.82%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, July 1st. Agilent Technologies's payout ratio is 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 number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. TD Cowen upped 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. UBS Group dropped their price objective on shares of Agilent Technologies from $150.00 to $130.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, May 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on shares of Agilent Technologies from $160.00 to $155.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, May 29th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on shares of Agilent Technologies from $155.00 to $135.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 17th. Finally, Barclays upped their price objective on shares of Agilent Technologies from $115.00 to $125.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Tuesday, June 24th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Agilent Technologies currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $140.92.

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.