Mn Services Vermogensbeheer B.V. Sells 8,300 Shares of Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A)

Mn Services Vermogensbeheer B.V. reduced its stake in shares of Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A - Free Report) by 7.3% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 105,975 shares of the medical research company's stock after selling 8,300 shares during the quarter. Mn Services Vermogensbeheer B.V.'s holdings in Agilent Technologies were worth $12,397,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in A. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Agilent Technologies during the 4th quarter worth $456,963,000. Madison Investment Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Agilent Technologies during the fourth quarter valued at about $94,051,000. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its holdings in Agilent Technologies by 15,648.1% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 627,247 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $73,375,000 after purchasing an additional 623,264 shares during the period. Two Sigma Investments LP grew its position in Agilent Technologies by 345.9% in the 4th quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP now owns 769,897 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $103,428,000 after buying an additional 597,249 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Iron Triangle Partners LP acquired a new position in Agilent Technologies during the 4th quarter valued at about $80,110,000.

Insider Activity at Agilent Technologies

In other news, Director Daniel K. Podolsky sold 1,819 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $116.46, for a total transaction of $211,840.74. Following the transaction, the director now owns 35,737 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,161,931.02. This represents a 4.84% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link.

Agilent Technologies Trading Down 2.5%

Agilent Technologies stock traded down $2.93 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $116.10. The stock had a trading volume of 1,577,127 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,911,605. Agilent Technologies, Inc. has a twelve month low of $96.43 and a twelve month high of $153.84. 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 $32.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.04, a PEG ratio of 3.61 and a beta of 1.23. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $109.74 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $125.15.

Agilent Technologies (NYSE:A - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, May 28th. The medical research company reported $1.31 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.26 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $1.67 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.63 billion. Agilent Technologies had a return on equity of 25.92% and a net margin of 17.59%. Agilent Technologies's revenue was up 6.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.22 earnings per share. Equities analysts anticipate that Agilent Technologies, Inc. will post 5.58 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Agilent Technologies Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 23rd. Investors of record on Tuesday, July 1st will be given a dividend of $0.248 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, July 1st. This represents a $0.99 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.85%. Agilent Technologies's payout ratio is 24.44%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently issued reports on A. Leerink Partners increased their price objective on shares of Agilent Technologies to $135.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, May 30th. Wall Street Zen lowered Agilent Technologies from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday. Robert W. Baird dropped their price objective on Agilent Technologies from $159.00 to $140.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, May 22nd. Barclays cut their price objective 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, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on Agilent Technologies from $160.00 to $155.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, May 29th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $140.15.

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.