Agilent Technologies, Inc. $A Shares Bought by Groupe la Francaise

Key Points

• Groupe la Francaise has increased its stake in Agilent Technologies by 13.6%, now owning 32,263 shares valued at approximately $3.84 million.
• Several other institutional investors, including Brighton Jones LLC and TD Waterhouse Canada Inc., have also recently increased their positions in Agilent Technologies.
• Agilent Technologies reported earnings of $1.31 per share for the quarter, exceeding analysts' expectations, with a revenue increase of 6.0% year-over-year.

Groupe la Francaise grew its position in shares of Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A - Free Report) by 13.6% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 32,263 shares of the medical research company's stock after purchasing an additional 3,874 shares during the quarter. Groupe la Francaise's holdings in Agilent Technologies were worth $3,838,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in A. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its stake in shares of Agilent Technologies by 15,648.1% during the first 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 period. Two Sigma Investments LP boosted its stake in shares of Agilent Technologies by 345.9% during the fourth quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP now owns 769,897 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $103,428,000 after buying an additional 597,249 shares during the period. Iron Triangle Partners LP acquired a new stake in shares of Agilent Technologies during the fourth quarter worth about $80,110,000. Mackenzie Financial Corp boosted its stake in shares of Agilent Technologies by 141.5% during the first quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 935,893 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $109,481,000 after buying an additional 548,344 shares during the period. Finally, Northern Trust Corp boosted its stake in shares of Agilent Technologies by 12.3% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 4,192,790 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $563,259,000 after buying an additional 457,713 shares during the period.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Padraig Mcdonnell sold 1,508 shares of Agilent Technologies stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $117.44, for a total transaction of $177,099.52. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 37,448 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,397,893.12. This trade represents a 3.87% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website.

Agilent Technologies Price Performance

A stock traded up $0.53 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $118.83. 1,690,137 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,941,437. The company has a market cap of $33.76 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.34, a PEG ratio of 3.62 and a beta of 1.22. Agilent Technologies, Inc. has a 52-week low of $96.43 and a 52-week high of $153.84. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $117.93 and its 200 day moving average price is $116.88. 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 (NYSE:A - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 28th. The medical research company reported $1.31 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 the consensus estimate of $1.63 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.22 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 6.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts predict that Agilent Technologies, Inc. will post 5.58 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Evercore ISI increased their target price on shares of Agilent Technologies from $125.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock an "in-line" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 8th. Barclays increased their target price on shares of Agilent Technologies from $115.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 24th. Leerink Partners increased their target price on shares of Agilent Technologies to $135.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, May 30th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Agilent Technologies from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Saturday, June 28th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on Agilent Technologies from $160.00 to $155.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, May 29th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Agilent Technologies has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $138.83.

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.