NorthCrest Asset Manangement LLC Invests $485,000 in Agilent Technologies, Inc. $A

Key Points

• NorthCrest Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in Agilent Technologies, purchasing 3,996 shares valued at approximately $485,000.
• CEO Padraig McDonnell recently sold 1,508 shares for about $177,099, resulting in a 3.87% decrease in his total ownership.
• Agilent Technologies announced a quarterly dividend of $0.248 per share, which will be paid on October 22nd to stockholders of record on September 30th.

NorthCrest Asset Manangement LLC purchased a new position in Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A - Free Report) during the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor purchased 3,996 shares of the medical research company's stock, valued at approximately $485,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in Agilent Technologies by 0.7% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 33,408,626 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $3,908,141,000 after acquiring an additional 240,965 shares in the last quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA grew its holdings in Agilent Technologies by 2.5% during the 1st quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA now owns 5,341,870 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $624,888,000 after acquiring an additional 128,131 shares in the last quarter. Generation Investment Management LLP grew its holdings in Agilent Technologies by 19.8% during the 1st quarter. Generation Investment Management LLP now owns 4,983,556 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $582,976,000 after acquiring an additional 824,243 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC grew its holdings in Agilent Technologies by 18.7% during the 1st quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 3,836,105 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $448,748,000 after acquiring an additional 604,124 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Impax Asset Management Group plc grew its holdings in Agilent Technologies by 3.6% during the 1st quarter. Impax Asset Management Group plc now owns 2,931,794 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $342,961,000 after acquiring an additional 102,365 shares in the last quarter. 87.41% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have issued reports on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on shares of Agilent Technologies from $160.00 to $155.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, May 29th. UBS Group dropped their target price on shares of Agilent Technologies from $150.00 to $130.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, May 29th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Agilent Technologies from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, September 5th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of Agilent Technologies from $140.00 to $150.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, September 15th. Finally, Leerink Partners increased their price target on shares of Agilent Technologies to $135.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, May 30th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $140.08.

Insider Activity at Agilent Technologies

In other news, CEO Padraig Mcdonnell sold 1,508 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the chief executive officer owned 37,448 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,397,893.12. This trade represents a 3.87% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 0.26% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Agilent Technologies Stock Performance

A traded up $0.04 during trading on Monday, reaching $126.36. 976,667 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,947,002. 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 0.53, a current ratio of 2.25 and a quick ratio of 1.71. The stock has a market capitalization of $35.82 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.66, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.93 and a beta of 1.24. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $120.25 and its 200-day simple moving average is $115.81.

Agilent Technologies (NYSE:A - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 27th. The medical research company reported $1.37 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting analysts' consensus estimates of $1.37. Agilent Technologies had a net margin of 17.97% and a return on equity of 25.51%. The company had revenue of $1.74 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.67 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.32 EPS. Agilent Technologies's revenue for the quarter was up 10.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Agilent Technologies has set its FY 2025 guidance at 5.560-5.590 EPS. Q4 2025 guidance at 1.570-1.600 EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that Agilent Technologies, Inc. will post 5.58 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Agilent Technologies Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 22nd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 30th will be paid a dividend of $0.248 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 30th. This represents a $0.99 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.8%. Agilent Technologies's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 23.24%.

About Agilent Technologies

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.