Noesis Capital Mangement Corp Acquires 2,240 Shares of Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A)

Noesis Capital Mangement Corp lifted its stake in shares of Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A - Free Report) by 1.9% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 120,929 shares of the medical research company's stock after buying an additional 2,240 shares during the quarter. Agilent Technologies makes up about 2.8% of Noesis Capital Mangement Corp's investment portfolio, making the stock its 12th largest holding. Noesis Capital Mangement Corp's holdings in Agilent Technologies were worth $14,146,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in A. Oak Thistle LLC acquired a new position in shares of Agilent Technologies during the first quarter valued at $1,336,000. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS raised its stake in shares of Agilent Technologies by 1.2% during the first quarter. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS now owns 102,049 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $11,938,000 after purchasing an additional 1,200 shares in the last quarter. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH raised its stake in shares of Agilent Technologies by 5.7% during the first quarter. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH now owns 365,725 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $42,783,000 after purchasing an additional 19,592 shares in the last quarter. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd raised its stake in shares of Agilent Technologies by 167.1% during the first quarter. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd now owns 40,018 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $4,681,000 after purchasing an additional 25,034 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Flynn Zito Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Agilent Technologies by 11.4% during the first quarter. Flynn Zito Capital Management LLC now owns 2,084 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $244,000 after purchasing an additional 213 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.42% of the company's stock.

Agilent Technologies Stock Down 0.1%

Agilent Technologies stock traded down $0.18 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $120.17. 1,972,723 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,755,995. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $116.45 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $121.55. The company has a current ratio of 2.09, a quick ratio of 1.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55. The company has a market cap of $34.14 billion, a PE ratio of 29.67, a PEG ratio of 3.65 and a beta of 1.23. Agilent Technologies, Inc. has a one year low of $96.43 and a one year high of $153.84.

Agilent Technologies (NYSE:A - Get Free Report) last posted 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 for 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%. The business's revenue was up 6.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.22 EPS. On average, research analysts forecast that Agilent Technologies, Inc. will post 5.58 EPS for the current year.

Agilent Technologies Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 23rd. Investors of record on Tuesday, July 1st were given a $0.248 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, July 1st. This represents a $0.99 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.83%. Agilent Technologies's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 24.44%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A has been the subject of several recent research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on Agilent Technologies from $160.00 to $155.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 29th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on Agilent Technologies from $155.00 to $135.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. Barclays boosted their price target on Agilent Technologies from $115.00 to $125.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 24th. Wall Street Zen raised Agilent Technologies from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, June 28th. Finally, Evercore ISI boosted their target price on Agilent Technologies from $125.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock an "in-line" rating in a 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, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $139.77.

Insider Transactions at Agilent Technologies

In other Agilent Technologies news, CEO Padraig Mcdonnell sold 1,508 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $117.44, for a total transaction of $177,099.52. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 37,448 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,397,893.12. The trade was a 3.87% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.26% of the company's stock.

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.