Cypress Asset Management Inc. TX Invests $563,000 in Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A)

Cypress Asset Management Inc. TX acquired a new stake in shares of Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm acquired 4,194 shares of the medical research company's stock, valued at approximately $563,000.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Ascent Group LLC grew its position in shares of Agilent Technologies by 14.7% in the 4th quarter. Ascent Group LLC now owns 2,533 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $340,000 after buying an additional 324 shares during the last quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp boosted its holdings in Agilent Technologies by 76.2% in the fourth quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 387,549 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $52,063,000 after acquiring an additional 167,581 shares during the last quarter. Forum Financial Management LP increased its position in Agilent Technologies by 42.4% during the 4th quarter. Forum Financial Management LP now owns 3,442 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $462,000 after purchasing an additional 1,025 shares during the period. Toronto Dominion Bank raised its holdings in Agilent Technologies by 5.8% during the 4th quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank now owns 153,898 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $20,674,000 after purchasing an additional 8,420 shares during the last quarter. Finally, GF Fund Management CO. LTD. acquired a new position in shares of Agilent Technologies in the 4th quarter worth approximately $935,000.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently issued reports on A. 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. TD Cowen lifted their price objective on shares of Agilent Technologies to $150.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday. Barclays dropped their price target on Agilent Technologies from $138.00 to $115.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 10th. UBS Group lowered their price target on shares of Agilent Technologies from $150.00 to $130.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company decreased 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. Seven 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 currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $140.15.

Agilent Technologies Price Performance

Shares of A traded down $1.81 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $111.47. 1,010,951 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,941,540. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56, a quick ratio of 1.66 and a current ratio of 2.20. The company has a market cap of $31.78 billion, a PE ratio of 27.52, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.13 and a beta of 1.27. Agilent Technologies, Inc. has a 52-week low of $96.43 and a 52-week high of $153.84. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $108.61 and a two-hundred day moving average of $126.62.

Agilent Technologies (NYSE:A - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly 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. The firm had revenue of $1.67 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.63 billion. Agilent Technologies had a return on equity of 26.13% and a net margin of 17.59%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 6.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.22 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts predict that Agilent Technologies, Inc. will post 5.54 earnings per share for the current year.

Agilent Technologies Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 23rd. Investors of record on Tuesday, July 1st will be given a $0.248 dividend. This represents a $0.99 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.89%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, July 1st. Agilent Technologies's payout ratio is 24.44%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Daniel K. Podolsky sold 1,819 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the director now owns 35,737 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,161,931.02. This represents a 4.84% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, VP Rodney Gonsalves sold 1,908 shares of Agilent Technologies stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $121.98, for a total value of $232,737.84. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 21,786 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,657,456.28. The trade was a 8.05% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here.

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.