Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A) Shares Purchased by Aigen Investment Management LP

Key Points

• Aigen Investment Management LP increased its holdings in Agilent Technologies by 483.5%, owning 13,112 shares valued at approximately $1,534,000.
• Agilent Technologies recently reported a net margin of 17.59% and earnings of $1.31 per share, beating the consensus estimate by $0.05.
• Analysts have mixed ratings on Agilent Technologies, with a consensus target price of $139.77 and various price targets ranging from $115.00 to $150.00.

Aigen Investment Management LP raised its stake in Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A - Free Report) by 483.5% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 13,112 shares of the medical research company's stock after purchasing an additional 10,865 shares during the period. Aigen Investment Management LP's holdings in Agilent Technologies were worth $1,534,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in A. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Agilent Technologies by 3.0% in the 1st quarter. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC now owns 3,449 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $403,000 after purchasing an additional 102 shares during the last quarter. Cary Street Partners Financial LLC lifted its holdings in Agilent Technologies by 2.9% in the first quarter. Cary Street Partners Financial LLC now owns 3,688 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $431,000 after acquiring an additional 103 shares during the last quarter. Western Pacific Wealth Management LP lifted its holdings in Agilent Technologies by 15.2% in the first quarter. Western Pacific Wealth Management LP now owns 873 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $102,000 after acquiring an additional 115 shares during the last quarter. Bartlett & CO. Wealth Management LLC grew its position in Agilent Technologies by 5.1% in the first quarter. Bartlett & CO. Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,406 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $281,000 after acquiring an additional 116 shares during the period. Finally, Brighton Jones LLC increased its stake in Agilent Technologies by 2.6% during the first quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 4,784 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $560,000 after acquiring an additional 121 shares during the last quarter.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Agilent Technologies from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Saturday, June 28th. Evercore ISI upped their price objective on shares of Agilent Technologies from $125.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock an "in-line" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 8th. Leerink Partners increased their price objective on shares of Agilent Technologies to $135.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, May 30th. Jefferies Financial Group cut their target price on Agilent Technologies from $135.00 to $116.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 21st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased 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. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $139.77.

Agilent Technologies Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:A traded down $1.35 on Thursday, reaching $118.95. The company's stock had a trading volume of 926,332 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,976,308. Agilent Technologies, Inc. has a 52-week low of $96.43 and a 52-week high of $153.84. The stock has a market capitalization of $33.79 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.37, a PEG ratio of 3.56 and a beta of 1.22. The stock's 50-day moving average is $117.65 and its two-hundred day moving average is $118.94. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55, a current ratio of 2.09 and a quick ratio of 1.60.

Agilent Technologies (NYSE:A - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, May 28th. The medical research company reported $1.31 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.26 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $1.67 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.63 billion. Agilent Technologies had a return on equity of 25.92% and a net margin of 17.59%. The company'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. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Agilent Technologies, Inc. will post 5.58 EPS for the current year.

Agilent Technologies Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 23rd. Investors of record on Tuesday, July 1st were given a dividend of $0.248 per share. This represents a $0.99 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.8%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, July 1st. Agilent Technologies's payout ratio is currently 24.44%.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Padraig Mcdonnell sold 1,508 shares of the company'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 transaction of $177,099.52. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 37,448 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,397,893.12. This represents a 3.87% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website.

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.