Natixis Advisors LLC Sells 18,032 Shares of Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A)

Natixis Advisors LLC reduced its stake in shares of Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A - Free Report) by 24.8% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 54,805 shares of the medical research company's stock after selling 18,032 shares during the period. Natixis Advisors LLC's holdings in Agilent Technologies were worth $6,411,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Modera Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Agilent Technologies by 8.2% during the 1st quarter. Modera Wealth Management LLC now owns 29,159 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $3,411,000 after acquiring an additional 2,218 shares during the last quarter. Vestcor Inc lifted its holdings in shares of Agilent Technologies by 98.2% during the 1st quarter. Vestcor Inc now owns 27,423 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $3,208,000 after acquiring an additional 13,588 shares during the last quarter. XTX Topco Ltd lifted its holdings in shares of Agilent Technologies by 124.8% during the 1st quarter. XTX Topco Ltd now owns 17,042 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $1,994,000 after acquiring an additional 9,460 shares during the last quarter. S&CO Inc. raised its position in Agilent Technologies by 18.8% in the 1st quarter. S&CO Inc. now owns 17,686 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $2,068,000 after purchasing an additional 2,804 shares during the period. Finally, Banque Cantonale Vaudoise purchased a new position in Agilent Technologies in the 1st quarter worth $1,400,000.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Padraig Mcdonnell sold 1,508 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $117.44, for a total transaction of $177,099.52. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 37,448 shares in the company, valued at $4,397,893.12. The trade was a 3.87% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink.

Agilent Technologies Price Performance

Shares of NYSE A opened at $114.94 on Wednesday. Agilent Technologies, Inc. has a 1 year low of $96.43 and a 1 year 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 company's 50-day moving average is $117.28 and its 200 day moving average is $120.20. The stock has a market capitalization of $32.65 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.38, a P/E/G ratio of 3.48 and a beta of 1.22.

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 25.92%. The company had revenue of $1.67 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.63 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.22 earnings per share. Agilent Technologies's quarterly revenue was up 6.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Agilent Technologies, Inc. will post 5.58 earnings per share for the current year.

Agilent Technologies Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 23rd. Investors of record on Tuesday, July 1st were given a dividend of $0.248 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, July 1st. This represents a $0.99 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.9%. Agilent Technologies's payout ratio is currently 24.44%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on shares of Agilent Technologies from $155.00 to $135.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. UBS Group decreased their target price on shares of Agilent Technologies from $150.00 to $130.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, May 29th. TD Cowen lifted their target price on shares of Agilent Technologies to $150.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 29th. Barclays lifted 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 report on Tuesday, June 24th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Agilent Technologies from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Saturday, June 28th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $139.77.

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.

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