Bank of New York Mellon Corp Lowers Stock Holdings in Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A)

Bank of New York Mellon Corp lessened its stake in Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A - Free Report) by 4.1% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,296,416 shares of the medical research company's stock after selling 97,153 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp owned about 0.81% of Agilent Technologies worth $268,635,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of A. Redwood Park Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Agilent Technologies in the 4th quarter worth approximately $27,000. Lee Danner & Bass Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Agilent Technologies during the 4th quarter worth approximately $29,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Agilent Technologies by 286.2% during the 1st quarter. Whipplewood Advisors LLC now owns 251 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 186 shares during the period. Sunbelt Securities Inc. raised its stake in shares of Agilent Technologies by 640.0% during the 4th quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. now owns 222 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 192 shares during the period. Finally, Opal Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Agilent Technologies during the 1st quarter worth approximately $31,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.42% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on A. Barclays upped their target price on Agilent Technologies from $115.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 24th. UBS Group reduced their target price on Agilent Technologies from $150.00 to $130.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on Agilent Technologies from $160.00 to $155.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 29th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on Agilent Technologies from $155.00 to $135.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. Finally, Leerink Partners increased their price objective on Agilent Technologies to $135.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, May 30th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $139.77.

Insider Buying and Selling at Agilent Technologies

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 transaction of $177,099.52. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 37,448 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,397,893.12. The trade was a 3.87% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.26% of the company's stock.

Agilent Technologies Trading Up 2.4%

Shares of NYSE A traded up $2.88 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $124.18. 2,269,533 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,049,842. The firm has a market capitalization of $35.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.66, a PEG ratio of 3.67 and a beta of 1.23. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55, a quick ratio of 1.60 and a current ratio of 2.09. Agilent Technologies, Inc. has a 52-week low of $96.43 and a 52-week high of $153.84. The company's 50-day moving average is $114.59 and its 200-day moving average is $123.00.

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 (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 business had revenue of $1.67 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.63 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.22 EPS. The business's quarterly revenue was up 6.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts expect that Agilent Technologies, Inc. will post 5.58 EPS 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 0.80%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, July 1st. Agilent Technologies's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 24.44%.

About Agilent Technologies

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.