Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A) Shares Sold by New York State Common Retirement Fund

New York State Common Retirement Fund reduced its position in shares of Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A - Free Report) by 10.1% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 333,623 shares of the medical research company's stock after selling 37,597 shares during the period. New York State Common Retirement Fund owned about 0.12% of Agilent Technologies worth $39,027,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of A. Redwood Park Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Agilent Technologies in the fourth quarter valued at $27,000. Lee Danner & Bass Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Agilent Technologies in the fourth quarter valued at $29,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Agilent Technologies by 286.2% in the first quarter. Whipplewood Advisors LLC now owns 251 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 186 shares in the last quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. raised its stake in shares of Agilent Technologies by 640.0% in the fourth quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. now owns 222 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 192 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Opal Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Agilent Technologies in the first quarter valued at $31,000.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Agilent Technologies news, CEO Padraig Mcdonnell sold 1,508 shares of Agilent Technologies stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $117.44, for a total value of $177,099.52. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 37,448 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,397,893.12. The trade was a 3.87% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A has been the topic of several analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price objective on Agilent Technologies from $135.00 to $116.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 21st. Wall Street Zen upgraded Agilent Technologies from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, June 28th. Barclays raised their price target on Agilent Technologies from $115.00 to $125.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on Agilent Technologies from $160.00 to $155.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, May 29th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on Agilent Technologies from $155.00 to $135.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Agilent Technologies has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $139.77.

Agilent Technologies Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE A traded up $2.99 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $116.42. 1,552,869 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,863,300. 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 1 year low of $96.43 and a 1 year high of $153.84. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $115.75 and a 200 day simple moving average of $122.43. The stock has a market cap of $33.07 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.75, a PEG ratio of 3.43 and a beta of 1.23.

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 (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.26 by $0.05. Agilent Technologies had a return on equity of 25.92% and a net margin of 17.59%. The firm had revenue of $1.67 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.63 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.22 earnings per share. The business's revenue was up 6.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts forecast that Agilent Technologies, Inc. will post 5.58 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Agilent Technologies Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 23rd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, July 1st will be issued a $0.248 dividend. This represents a $0.99 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.85%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, July 1st. Agilent Technologies's dividend payout ratio is presently 24.44%.

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.