Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc. Lowers Position in Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A)

Key Points

• Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc. reduced its holdings in Agilent Technologies by 39.9% in the first quarter, owning 4,974 shares valued at approximately $582,000.
• Significant increases in positions were reported by several institutional investors, with GAMMA Investing LLC expanding its holdings by 15,648.1% to 627,247 shares worth $73.4 million.
• Agilent Technologies announced a quarterly dividend of $0.248, with a current annualized dividend yield of 0.9%.

Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc. trimmed its position in Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A - Free Report) by 39.9% in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 4,974 shares of the medical research company's stock after selling 3,299 shares during the period. Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc.'s holdings in Agilent Technologies were worth $582,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in A. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its position in shares of Agilent Technologies by 6.1% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 4,663 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $626,000 after acquiring an additional 270 shares during the last quarter. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC raised its stake in Agilent Technologies by 8.2% during the 4th quarter. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC now owns 9,209 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $1,237,000 after purchasing an additional 696 shares during the period. Schroder Investment Management Group raised its stake in Agilent Technologies by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group now owns 88,300 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $11,847,000 after purchasing an additional 405 shares during the period. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC raised its stake in Agilent Technologies by 1.2% during the 4th quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 7,479 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $1,025,000 after purchasing an additional 87 shares during the period. Finally, O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC raised its stake in Agilent Technologies by 9.8% during the 4th quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC now owns 37,177 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $4,994,000 after purchasing an additional 3,327 shares during the period.

Agilent Technologies Price Performance

Shares of NYSE A traded down $1.30 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $113.51. 1,888,639 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,780,879. The company has a market cap of $32.24 billion, a PE ratio of 28.03, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.44 and a beta of 1.22. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55, a quick ratio of 1.60 and a current ratio of 2.09. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $117.08 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $120.64. Agilent Technologies, Inc. has a 1-year low of $96.43 and a 1-year 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 analysts' consensus estimates of $1.26 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $1.67 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.63 billion. Agilent Technologies had a net margin of 17.59% and a return on equity of 25.92%. Agilent Technologies's quarterly revenue was up 6.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.22 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Agilent Technologies, Inc. will post 5.58 EPS for the current year.

Agilent Technologies Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 23rd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, July 1st were given 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 payout ratio is 24.44%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have commented on A shares. TD Cowen increased their target price on shares of Agilent Technologies to $150.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on shares of Agilent Technologies from $160.00 to $155.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, May 29th. Leerink Partners increased their target price on shares of Agilent Technologies to $135.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, May 30th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on shares of Agilent Technologies from $155.00 to $135.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. Finally, Robert W. Baird lowered their target price on shares of Agilent Technologies from $159.00 to $140.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, May 22nd. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Agilent Technologies presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $139.77.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Padraig Mcdonnell sold 1,508 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the chief executive officer owned 37,448 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,397,893.12. This represents a 3.87% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link.

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.