Gulf International Bank UK Ltd Sells 6,833 Shares of Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A)

Key Points

• Gulf International Bank UK Ltd reduced its holdings in Agilent Technologies by 29.6% in Q1, now owning 16,256 shares worth $1.9 million after selling 6,833 shares.
• Analysts have mixed views on Agilent's stock, with price targets ranging from $116.00 to $155.00, while the average target price is $139.77 and the consensus rating is "Moderate Buy."
• Agilent Technologies reported earnings of $1.31 per share, exceeding expectations and indicating a 6.0% year-over-year revenue increase, alongside a recent quarterly dividend of $0.248 per share.

Gulf International Bank UK Ltd reduced its position in Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A - Free Report) by 29.6% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 16,256 shares of the medical research company's stock after selling 6,833 shares during the quarter. Gulf International Bank UK Ltd's holdings in Agilent Technologies were worth $1,901,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. raised its stake in shares of Agilent Technologies by 13.5% during the first quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 36,674 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $4,279,000 after purchasing an additional 4,362 shares during the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its stake in shares of Agilent Technologies by 8.3% during the first quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 30,827 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $3,606,000 after purchasing an additional 2,371 shares during the last quarter. Alps Advisors Inc. raised its stake in shares of Agilent Technologies by 29.5% during the first quarter. Alps Advisors Inc. now owns 13,358 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $1,563,000 after purchasing an additional 3,040 shares during the last quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. raised its stake in shares of Agilent Technologies by 30.4% during the first quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. now owns 9,474 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $1,108,000 after purchasing an additional 2,207 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Live Oak Investment Partners purchased a new stake in shares of Agilent Technologies during the first quarter worth approximately $603,000. 87.41% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Agilent Technologies Price Performance

Shares of Agilent Technologies stock traded up $0.43 during trading on Friday, hitting $119.30. The stock had a trading volume of 1,238,463 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,437,926. 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 firm has a market cap of $33.89 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.46, a PEG ratio of 3.62 and a beta of 1.22. The business has a fifty day moving average of $117.82 and a two-hundred day moving average of $118.31. Agilent Technologies, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $96.43 and a fifty-two week 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 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.26 by $0.05. The business 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 quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.22 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Agilent Technologies, Inc. will post 5.58 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Agilent Technologies Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 23rd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, July 1st were issued a dividend of $0.248 per share. This represents a $0.99 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, July 1st. Agilent Technologies's dividend payout ratio is currently 24.44%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have issued reports on A shares. TD Cowen increased their price objective on Agilent Technologies to $150.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 29th. Barclays raised their price target on Agilent Technologies from $115.00 to $125.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 24th. Leerink Partners raised their price target on Agilent Technologies to $135.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, May 30th. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price target 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. Finally, Evercore ISI raised their price target on Agilent Technologies from $125.00 to $130.00 and gave the company an "in-line" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 8th. Six equities research 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 has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $139.77.

Insider Activity at Agilent Technologies

In related news, CEO Padraig Mcdonnell sold 1,508 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on 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 directly owned 37,448 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,397,893.12. The trade was a 3.87% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.26% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.