Lazard Asset Management LLC Has $562,000 Stock Position in Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A)

Lazard Asset Management LLC lessened its holdings in shares of Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A - Free Report) by 93.7% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 4,192 shares of the medical research company's stock after selling 61,945 shares during the quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC's holdings in Agilent Technologies were worth $562,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Sienna Gestion lifted its holdings in Agilent Technologies by 29.8% in the 4th quarter. Sienna Gestion now owns 78,445 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $10,537,000 after purchasing an additional 17,991 shares during the last quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Agilent Technologies by 8.5% during the fourth quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 33,898 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $4,554,000 after buying an additional 2,664 shares during the last quarter. Prudential PLC lifted its holdings in shares of Agilent Technologies by 16.0% during the fourth quarter. Prudential PLC now owns 73,273 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $9,843,000 after buying an additional 10,128 shares during the last quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Agilent Technologies by 9.8% during the fourth quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 43,862 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $5,892,000 after buying an additional 3,915 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Daiwa Securities Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Agilent Technologies by 16.0% during the fourth quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 49,288 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $6,621,000 after buying an additional 6,802 shares during the last quarter.

Agilent Technologies Stock Performance

Shares of A traded up $2.68 on Tuesday, reaching $111.21. 2,103,893 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,930,271. The firm has a market cap of $31.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.57, a P/E/G ratio of 3.06 and a beta of 1.27. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56, a current ratio of 2.20 and a quick ratio of 1.66. Agilent Technologies, Inc. has a 12 month low of $96.43 and a 12 month high of $153.84. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $108.98 and its 200-day moving average price is $126.87.

Agilent Technologies (NYSE:A - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 26th. The medical research company reported $1.31 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.27 by $0.04. Agilent Technologies had a return on equity of 25.56% and a net margin of 19.27%. The firm had revenue of $1.68 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.67 billion. Equities analysts forecast that Agilent Technologies, Inc. will post 5.54 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Agilent Technologies Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 23rd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, July 1st will be given a $0.248 dividend. This represents a $0.99 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.89%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, July 1st. Agilent Technologies's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 22.76%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on Agilent Technologies from $155.00 to $135.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 17th. Jefferies Financial Group cut their price target on Agilent Technologies from $135.00 to $116.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 21st. TD Cowen upped their price target on Agilent Technologies to $135.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, April 10th. Barclays cut their price target on Agilent Technologies from $138.00 to $115.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 10th. Finally, Robert W. Baird cut their price target on Agilent Technologies from $159.00 to $140.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, May 22nd. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $141.42.

Insider Buying and Selling at Agilent Technologies

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

Agilent Technologies Company 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.