Oak Thistle LLC Invests $1.34 Million in Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A)

Oak Thistle LLC acquired a new position in shares of Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 11,418 shares of the medical research company's stock, valued at approximately $1,336,000.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in A. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS boosted its holdings 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 worth $11,938,000 after acquiring an additional 1,200 shares during the period. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH boosted its holdings 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 worth $42,783,000 after acquiring an additional 19,592 shares during the period. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd boosted its stake in shares of Agilent Technologies by 167.1% in 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 buying an additional 25,034 shares during the period. Flynn Zito Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Agilent Technologies by 11.4% in 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 buying an additional 213 shares during the period. Finally, Hartford Funds Management Co LLC boosted its stake in shares of Agilent Technologies by 38.5% in the first quarter. Hartford Funds Management Co LLC now owns 6,000 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $702,000 after buying an additional 1,667 shares during the period.

Agilent Technologies Trading Down 0.1%

NYSE A traded down $0.18 on Friday, reaching $120.17. The company had a trading volume of 1,972,723 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,755,995. 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 $34.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.67, a P/E/G ratio of 3.65 and a beta of 1.23. The business has a 50 day moving average of $116.45 and a two-hundred day moving average of $121.45. Agilent Technologies, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $96.43 and a fifty-two week high of $153.84.

Agilent Technologies (NYSE:A - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 28th. The medical research company reported $1.31 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates 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 net margin of 17.59% and a return on equity of 25.92%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 6.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.22 earnings per share. Analysts forecast that Agilent Technologies, Inc. will post 5.58 EPS for the current year.

Agilent Technologies Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 23rd. Stockholders 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.83%. Agilent Technologies's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 24.44%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently issued reports on A. Wells Fargo & Company cut 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. Wall Street Zen upgraded Agilent Technologies from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, June 28th. UBS Group cut their price target on Agilent Technologies from $150.00 to $130.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 29th. 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. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price objective on shares of Agilent Technologies from $135.00 to $116.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 21st. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $139.77.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Padraig Mcdonnell sold 1,508 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $117.44, for a total value of $177,099.52. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 37,448 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,397,893.12. This trade represents a 3.87% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website.

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.