Central Valley Advisors LLC Acquires New Holdings in Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A)

Central Valley Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm bought 15,845 shares of the medical research company's stock, valued at approximately $1,854,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in A. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Agilent Technologies in the fourth quarter worth $456,963,000. Madison Investment Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Agilent Technologies in the 4th quarter worth about $94,051,000. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its position in Agilent Technologies by 15,648.1% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 627,247 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $73,375,000 after buying an additional 623,264 shares during the last quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP lifted its stake in Agilent Technologies by 345.9% during the 4th quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP now owns 769,897 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $103,428,000 after acquiring an additional 597,249 shares during the period. Finally, Iron Triangle Partners LP purchased a new stake in shares of Agilent Technologies during the 4th quarter valued at about $80,110,000.

Agilent Technologies Stock Down 0.6%

NYSE A traded down $0.72 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $119.80. The company's stock had a trading volume of 2,752,373 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,924,469. Agilent Technologies, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $96.43 and a fifty-two week high of $153.84. The company has a market cap of $34.03 billion, a PE ratio of 29.58, a P/E/G ratio of 3.54 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. The business's 50 day simple moving average is $108.33 and its 200-day simple moving average is $125.73.

Agilent Technologies (NYSE:A - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, May 28th. The medical research company reported $1.31 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.26 by $0.05. Agilent Technologies had a net margin of 17.59% and a return on equity of 25.92%. The company had revenue of $1.67 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.63 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.22 EPS. Agilent Technologies's revenue for the quarter was up 6.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Agilent Technologies, Inc. will post 5.58 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Agilent Technologies Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 23rd. Investors of record on Tuesday, July 1st will be issued a dividend of $0.248 per share. This represents a $0.99 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.83%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, July 1st. Agilent Technologies's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 24.44%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on Agilent Technologies from $155.00 to $135.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 17th. Leerink Partners raised their price objective on shares of Agilent Technologies to $135.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, May 30th. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their target price on shares of Agilent Technologies from $135.00 to $116.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 21st. TD Cowen lifted their price target on shares of Agilent Technologies to $150.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 29th. Finally, UBS Group cut their price objective on shares of Agilent Technologies from $150.00 to $130.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, May 29th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $140.15.

Insider Activity at Agilent Technologies

In other Agilent Technologies news, VP Rodney Gonsalves sold 1,908 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, March 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $121.98, for a total transaction of $232,737.84. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 21,786 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,657,456.28. The trade was a 8.05% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Daniel K. Podolsky sold 1,819 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, March 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $116.46, for a total value 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. This trade represents a 4.84% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here.

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.