Assenagon Asset Management S.A. Buys 2,371 Shares of Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A)

Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its stake in shares of Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A - Free Report) by 8.3% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 30,827 shares of the medical research company's stock after buying an additional 2,371 shares during the quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A.'s holdings in Agilent Technologies were worth $3,606,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of A. Redwood Park Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Agilent Technologies during the fourth quarter worth $27,000. Lee Danner & Bass Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Agilent Technologies during the fourth quarter worth $29,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Agilent Technologies by 286.2% during the first quarter. Whipplewood Advisors LLC now owns 251 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 186 shares during the period. Sunbelt Securities Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Agilent Technologies by 640.0% during the fourth quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. now owns 222 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 192 shares during the period. Finally, Wood Tarver Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Agilent Technologies during the fourth quarter worth $34,000.

Agilent Technologies Price Performance

Shares of NYSE A opened at $116.97 on Monday. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $109.34 and its 200-day moving average price is $125.29. Agilent Technologies, Inc. has a 1-year low of $96.43 and a 1-year high of $153.84. The firm has a market capitalization of $33.23 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.88, a P/E/G ratio of 3.55 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 (NYSE:A - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 28th. The medical research company reported $1.31 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.26 by $0.05. Agilent Technologies had a net margin of 17.59% and a return on equity of 25.92%. The firm had revenue of $1.67 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.63 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.22 earnings per share. The business's quarterly revenue was up 6.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts anticipate that Agilent Technologies, Inc. will post 5.58 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Agilent Technologies Announces Dividend

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on A shares. TD Cowen lifted their price target on shares of Agilent Technologies to $150.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, May 29th. UBS Group cut their price target on shares of Agilent Technologies from $150.00 to $130.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, May 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on shares of Agilent Technologies from $160.00 to $155.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, May 29th. Barclays dropped their target price on shares of Agilent Technologies from $138.00 to $115.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 10th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group dropped their target price on shares of Agilent Technologies from $135.00 to $116.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 21st. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $140.15.

Insider Transactions at Agilent Technologies

In other news, Director Daniel K. Podolsky sold 1,819 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $116.46, for a total transaction of $211,840.74. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 35,737 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,161,931.02. The trade was a 4.84% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link.

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.

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