Novem Group Makes New $831,000 Investment in Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A)

Novem Group acquired a new position in shares of Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund acquired 6,187 shares of the medical research company's stock, valued at approximately $831,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in A. CKW Financial Group increased its stake in Agilent Technologies by 114.9% during the 4th quarter. CKW Financial Group now owns 187 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 100 shares during the period. Global X Japan Co. Ltd. boosted its position in shares of Agilent Technologies by 161.1% during the 4th quarter. Global X Japan Co. Ltd. now owns 188 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 116 shares in the last quarter. Redwood Park Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Agilent Technologies in the 4th quarter worth about $27,000. Lee Danner & Bass Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Agilent Technologies during the fourth quarter worth approximately $29,000. Finally, Hanson & Doremus Investment Management increased its stake in shares of Agilent Technologies by 66.5% in the fourth quarter. Hanson & Doremus Investment Management now owns 263 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $35,000 after acquiring an additional 105 shares during the last quarter.

Agilent Technologies Price Performance

Shares of NYSE A traded up $2.58 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $111.11. 552,071 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,924,232. The company's 50 day moving average price is $109.16 and its 200 day moving average price is $126.98. Agilent Technologies, Inc. has a 52 week low of $96.43 and a 52 week high of $153.84. The company has a quick ratio of 1.66, a current ratio of 2.20 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56. The stock has a market capitalization of $31.68 billion, a PE ratio of 25.56, a PEG ratio of 3.06 and a beta of 1.27.

Agilent Technologies (NYSE:A - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 26th. The medical research company reported $1.31 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.27 by $0.04. Agilent Technologies had a net margin of 19.27% and a return on equity of 25.56%. The business had revenue of $1.68 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.67 billion. Sell-side analysts forecast that Agilent Technologies, Inc. will post 5.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Agilent Technologies Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 23rd. Investors of record on Tuesday, July 1st will be paid a $0.248 dividend. This represents a $0.99 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.89%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, July 1st. Agilent Technologies's payout ratio is 22.76%.

Insider Activity

In other Agilent Technologies news, Director Daniel K. Podolsky sold 1,819 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $116.46, for a total transaction of $211,840.74. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 35,737 shares in the company, valued at $4,161,931.02. The trade was a 4.84% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, VP Rodney Gonsalves sold 1,908 shares of the company's 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 completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 21,786 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,657,456.28. This represents a 8.05% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Robert W. Baird reduced their price objective on shares of Agilent Technologies from $159.00 to $140.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on shares of 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 cut their price target on shares of Agilent Technologies from $138.00 to $115.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 10th. TD Cowen boosted their price objective on shares of Agilent Technologies to $135.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 10th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price objective on shares of Agilent Technologies from $135.00 to $116.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 21st. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Agilent Technologies currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $141.42.

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.