Alps Advisors Inc. Has $1.56 Million Position in Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A)

Alps Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A - Free Report) by 29.5% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 13,358 shares of the medical research company's stock after purchasing an additional 3,040 shares during the period. Alps Advisors Inc.'s holdings in Agilent Technologies were worth $1,563,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of Agilent Technologies by 13.5% during the 1st quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 36,674 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $4,279,000 after purchasing an additional 4,362 shares during the period. Prudential PLC increased its stake in Agilent Technologies by 16.0% during the fourth quarter. Prudential PLC now owns 73,273 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $9,843,000 after acquiring an additional 10,128 shares during the period. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC increased its stake in Agilent Technologies by 9.8% during the fourth quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 43,862 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $5,892,000 after acquiring an additional 3,915 shares during the period. Horizon Investments LLC raised its holdings in Agilent Technologies by 435.3% in the 4th quarter. Horizon Investments LLC now owns 21,198 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $2,848,000 after acquiring an additional 17,238 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its position in shares of Agilent Technologies by 8.3% in the 1st quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 30,827 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $3,606,000 after acquiring an additional 2,371 shares during the period.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Agilent Technologies news, CEO Padraig Mcdonnell sold 1,508 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 1st. The stock was 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 position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website.

Agilent Technologies Stock Performance

NYSE:A opened at $123.35 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $35.04 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.46, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.74 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 1 year low of $96.43 and a 1 year high of $153.84. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $115.23 and a 200-day moving average of $122.75.

Agilent Technologies (NYSE:A - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 28th. The medical research company reported $1.31 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.26 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $1.67 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Agilent Technologies, Inc. will post 5.58 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Agilent Technologies Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 23rd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, July 1st will be given a $0.248 dividend. This represents a $0.99 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.80%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, July 1st. Agilent Technologies's payout ratio is presently 24.44%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently commented on A shares. Wall Street Zen raised Agilent Technologies from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Saturday, June 28th. UBS Group reduced 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. Barclays upped their target price on shares of Agilent Technologies from $115.00 to $125.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 24th. Leerink Partners increased their price target on shares of Agilent Technologies to $135.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, May 30th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on Agilent Technologies from $160.00 to $155.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, May 29th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $139.77.

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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