Covington Investment Advisors Inc. Buys Shares of 87,395 Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A)

Key Points

• Covington Investment Advisors Inc. acquired 87,395 shares of Agilent Technologies, valued at approximately $10.2 million, making it the firm's 25th largest holding.
• Analyst ratings on Agilent Technologies have varied, with price targets ranging from $116 to $160 and a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" among six hold and eight buy ratings.
• Agilent Technologies declared a quarterly dividend of $0.248 per share, reflecting an annual yield of 0.9% and a payout ratio of 24.44%.

Covington Investment Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor acquired 87,395 shares of the medical research company's stock, valued at approximately $10,223,000. Agilent Technologies comprises approximately 1.6% of Covington Investment Advisors Inc.'s holdings, making the stock its 25th largest position.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in A. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Agilent Technologies by 0.7% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 33,408,626 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $3,908,141,000 after acquiring an additional 240,965 shares during the period. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA boosted its position in shares of Agilent Technologies by 2.5% in the first quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA now owns 5,341,870 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $624,888,000 after acquiring an additional 128,131 shares during the period. Deutsche Bank AG boosted its position in shares of Agilent Technologies by 0.9% in the fourth quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 4,436,700 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $596,026,000 after acquiring an additional 38,348 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp boosted its position in shares of Agilent Technologies by 12.3% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 4,192,790 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $563,259,000 after acquiring an additional 457,713 shares during the period. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lifted its position in Agilent Technologies by 9.6% in the fourth quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 3,231,981 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $434,184,000 after purchasing an additional 283,445 shares during the period.

Insider Transactions at Agilent Technologies

In other Agilent Technologies news, CEO Padraig Mcdonnell sold 1,508 shares of the firm's 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 transaction, the chief executive officer owned 37,448 shares in the company, 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 filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website.

Agilent Technologies Trading Down 1.2%

A stock traded down $1.49 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $118.81. The stock had a trading volume of 502,195 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,973,413. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $117.65 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $118.94. The company has a quick ratio of 1.60, a current ratio of 2.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55. The firm has a market cap of $33.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.34, a PEG ratio of 3.56 and a beta of 1.22. Agilent Technologies, Inc. has a twelve month low of $96.43 and a twelve month high of $153.84.

Agilent Technologies (NYSE:A - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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. The firm had revenue of $1.67 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.63 billion. Agilent Technologies had a return on equity of 25.92% and a net margin of 17.59%. The company's revenue was up 6.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.22 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts expect 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 was paid on Wednesday, July 23rd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, July 1st were issued a dividend of $0.248 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, July 1st. This represents a $0.99 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.8%. Agilent Technologies's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 24.44%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently commented on A. Wall Street Zen raised Agilent Technologies from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Saturday, June 28th. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their target price on Agilent Technologies from $135.00 to $116.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 21st. Leerink Partners raised their target price on Agilent Technologies to $135.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, May 30th. UBS Group dropped their price objective 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. Finally, Evercore ISI increased their price objective on Agilent Technologies from $125.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock an "in-line" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 8th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average 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.