Gateway Investment Advisers LLC Sells 70,312 Shares of Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A)

Gateway Investment Advisers LLC lowered its position in Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A - Free Report) by 52.0% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 64,829 shares of the medical research company's stock after selling 70,312 shares during the period. Gateway Investment Advisers LLC's holdings in Agilent Technologies were worth $7,584,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Global X Japan Co. Ltd. boosted its position in Agilent Technologies by 161.1% during the fourth quarter. Global X Japan Co. Ltd. now owns 188 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 116 shares during the period. Redwood Park Advisors LLC bought a new position in Agilent Technologies during the fourth quarter worth about $27,000. Lee Danner & Bass Inc. bought a new position in Agilent Technologies during the fourth quarter worth about $29,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Agilent Technologies by 286.2% in the first quarter. Whipplewood Advisors LLC now owns 251 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 186 shares during the period. Finally, Sunbelt Securities Inc. boosted its position in shares of Agilent Technologies by 640.0% in the fourth quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. now owns 222 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 192 shares during the period.

Insider Transactions at Agilent Technologies

In related news, Director Daniel K. Podolsky sold 1,819 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, March 31st. The shares were 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 directly owns 35,737 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,161,931.02. This trade represents a 4.84% decrease in their ownership of the stock. 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 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 directly owns 21,786 shares of the company's stock, valued at $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.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. Barclays cut their price objective on shares of 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. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on shares of Agilent Technologies from $155.00 to $135.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. UBS Group decreased their price target on shares of Agilent Technologies from $150.00 to $130.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, May 29th. TD Cowen lifted their target price on shares of Agilent Technologies to $150.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 29th. Finally, Robert W. Baird decreased their target price on shares of Agilent Technologies from $159.00 to $140.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, May 22nd. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Agilent Technologies currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $140.15.

Agilent Technologies Stock Up 1.7%

Shares of NYSE:A traded up $1.96 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $115.90. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,556,432 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,913,545. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $108.10 and a 200-day moving average of $125.93. The firm has a market capitalization of $32.92 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.62, a PEG ratio of 3.52 and a beta of 1.23. The company has a quick ratio of 1.60, a current ratio of 2.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55. Agilent Technologies, Inc. has a 12-month low of $96.43 and a 12-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, 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 company had revenue of $1.67 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.63 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.22 EPS. Agilent Technologies's revenue for the quarter was up 6.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts anticipate that Agilent Technologies, Inc. will post 5.58 earnings per share for the current year.

Agilent Technologies Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 23rd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, July 1st will be paid a $0.248 dividend. This represents a $0.99 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.86%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, July 1st. Agilent Technologies's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 24.44%.

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.