Arizona State Retirement System Has $9.81 Million Stake in Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A)

Arizona State Retirement System raised its stake in shares of Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A - Free Report) by 2.5% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 83,814 shares of the medical research company's stock after buying an additional 2,055 shares during the quarter. Arizona State Retirement System's holdings in Agilent Technologies were worth $9,805,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its holdings in Agilent Technologies by 0.6% during the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 9,306,805 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $1,250,276,000 after acquiring an additional 59,781 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Agilent Technologies by 0.8% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 7,002,671 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $938,291,000 after purchasing an additional 53,992 shares during the period. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA lifted its holdings in shares of Agilent Technologies by 0.9% during the 4th quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA now owns 5,213,739 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $700,414,000 after purchasing an additional 47,495 shares in the last quarter. Deutsche Bank AG grew its position in shares of Agilent Technologies by 0.9% in the 4th quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 4,436,700 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $596,026,000 after purchasing an additional 38,348 shares during the period. Finally, Northern Trust Corp increased its stake in Agilent Technologies by 12.3% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 4,192,790 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $563,259,000 after purchasing an additional 457,713 shares in the last quarter.

Insider Activity

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on A shares. Wall Street Zen upgraded Agilent Technologies from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Saturday, June 28th. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their price target on shares of Agilent Technologies from $135.00 to $116.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 21st. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of Agilent Technologies from $115.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 24th. Evercore ISI raised their target price on shares of Agilent Technologies from $125.00 to $130.00 and gave the company an "in-line" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 8th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on shares of 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 research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Agilent Technologies has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $139.77.

Agilent Technologies Price Performance

A traded up $2.99 on Thursday, hitting $116.42. 1,552,869 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,866,628. The firm has a market capitalization of $33.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.75, a PEG ratio of 3.44 and a beta of 1.23. 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, Inc. has a 12 month low of $96.43 and a 12 month high of $153.84. The business has a 50-day moving average of $115.90 and a two-hundred day moving average of $122.30.

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 for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.63 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.22 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was up 6.0% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts forecast that Agilent Technologies, Inc. will post 5.58 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Agilent Technologies Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 23rd. Stockholders 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 dividend yield of 0.85%. Agilent Technologies's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 24.44%.

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.