Legacy Wealth Management LLC MS Invests $3.18 Million in Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A)

Legacy Wealth Management LLC MS bought a new position in shares of Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm bought 27,205 shares of the medical research company's stock, valued at approximately $3,182,000. Agilent Technologies accounts for about 1.0% of Legacy Wealth Management LLC MS's investment portfolio, making the stock its 26th biggest position.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. 111 Capital bought a new position in shares of Agilent Technologies in the fourth quarter worth $668,000. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC increased its holdings in Agilent Technologies by 32.9% in the 4th quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 27,563 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $3,703,000 after buying an additional 6,828 shares during the period. Lansforsakringar Fondforvaltning AB publ bought a new position in Agilent Technologies in the 4th quarter valued at about $12,804,000. PKO Investment Management Joint Stock Co bought a new position in Agilent Technologies in the 4th quarter valued at about $484,000. Finally, Wood Tarver Financial Group LLC bought a new position in Agilent Technologies in the 4th quarter valued at about $34,000.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Leerink Partners lifted their price objective on shares of Agilent Technologies to $135.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday. UBS Group decreased their price target on Agilent Technologies from $150.00 to $130.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday. Barclays decreased their price target on Agilent Technologies from $138.00 to $115.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 10th. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their target price on Agilent Technologies from $135.00 to $116.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 21st. Finally, Robert W. Baird decreased their target price on Agilent Technologies from $159.00 to $140.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, May 22nd. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Agilent Technologies presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $140.15.

Insider Buying and Selling at Agilent Technologies

In related news, VP Rodney Gonsalves sold 1,908 shares of the 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 directly owns 21,786 shares in the company, valued at $2,657,456.28. This trade represents a 8.05% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director Daniel K. Podolsky sold 1,819 shares of the 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 owns 35,737 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,161,931.02. This represents a 4.84% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here.

Agilent Technologies Trading Down 1.3%

A traded down $1.45 during trading on Friday, reaching $111.83. 4,751,122 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,943,133. The company has a current ratio of 2.20, a quick ratio of 1.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56. Agilent Technologies, Inc. has a one year low of $96.43 and a one year high of $153.84. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $108.44 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $126.47. The stock has a market capitalization of $31.88 billion, a PE ratio of 27.61, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.13 and a beta of 1.27.

Agilent Technologies (NYSE:A - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 28th. The medical research company reported $1.31 earnings per share (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 26.13%. The firm had revenue of $1.67 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.63 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.22 EPS. The company's revenue was up 6.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Agilent Technologies, Inc. will post 5.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Agilent Technologies Announces Dividend

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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, July 1st. This represents a $0.99 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.89%. 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.