Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A) Shares Sold by QRG Capital Management Inc.

QRG Capital Management Inc. cut its holdings in shares of Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A - Free Report) by 39.8% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 44,011 shares of the medical research company's stock after selling 29,059 shares during the period. QRG Capital Management Inc.'s holdings in Agilent Technologies were worth $5,148,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Flynn Zito Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Agilent Technologies by 3.8% in the fourth quarter. Flynn Zito Capital Management LLC now owns 1,871 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $251,000 after purchasing an additional 69 shares in the last quarter. IFP Advisors Inc grew its stake in Agilent Technologies by 17.7% in the fourth quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 458 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $62,000 after purchasing an additional 69 shares in the last quarter. Tiemann Investment Advisors LLC grew its stake in Agilent Technologies by 5.6% in the fourth quarter. Tiemann Investment Advisors LLC now owns 1,423 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $191,000 after purchasing an additional 75 shares in the last quarter. Rothschild Investment LLC grew its stake in Agilent Technologies by 19.2% in the fourth quarter. Rothschild Investment LLC now owns 491 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $66,000 after purchasing an additional 79 shares in the last quarter. Finally, CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC grew its stake in Agilent Technologies by 1.2% in the fourth quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 7,479 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $1,025,000 after purchasing an additional 87 shares in the last quarter.

Agilent Technologies Stock Performance

A opened at $116.10 on Wednesday. The business's 50 day moving average is $109.92 and its 200-day moving average is $125.09. The stock has a market cap of $32.98 billion, a PE ratio of 28.67, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.61 and a beta of 1.23. 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, Inc. has a twelve month low of $96.43 and a twelve 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 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.26 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $1.67 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations 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 quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.22 earnings per share. On average, analysts predict that Agilent Technologies, Inc. will post 5.58 earnings per share for the current year.

Agilent Technologies Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 23rd. Investors 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 0.85%. Agilent Technologies's payout ratio is 24.44%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A has been the subject of a number of research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on Agilent Technologies from $160.00 to $155.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 29th. Barclays decreased their price target on Agilent Technologies from $138.00 to $115.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 10th. UBS Group cut their target price on shares of Agilent Technologies from $150.00 to $130.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, May 29th. Jefferies Financial Group cut their target price 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 raised their target price on shares of Agilent Technologies to $150.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, May 29th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Agilent Technologies has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $140.15.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Daniel K. Podolsky sold 1,819 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $116.46, for a total transaction of $211,840.74. Following the sale, the director now owns 35,737 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,161,931.02. The trade was a 4.84% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website.

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.

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