OVERSEA CHINESE BANKING Corp Ltd Boosts Stock Holdings in Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A)

OVERSEA CHINESE BANKING Corp Ltd raised its holdings in shares of Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A - Free Report) by 134.8% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 624,576 shares of the medical research company's stock after purchasing an additional 358,622 shares during the period. OVERSEA CHINESE BANKING Corp Ltd owned 0.22% of Agilent Technologies worth $73,063,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its position in shares of Agilent Technologies by 0.6% in the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 9,306,805 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $1,250,276,000 after buying an additional 59,781 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Agilent Technologies by 0.8% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 7,002,671 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $938,291,000 after purchasing an additional 53,992 shares in the last quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA boosted its stake in Agilent Technologies by 0.9% in the 4th quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA now owns 5,213,739 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $700,414,000 after purchasing an additional 47,495 shares in the last quarter. Deutsche Bank AG boosted its stake in Agilent Technologies by 0.9% in the 4th quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 4,436,700 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $596,026,000 after purchasing an additional 38,348 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp boosted its stake in Agilent Technologies by 12.3% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 4,192,790 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $563,259,000 after purchasing an additional 457,713 shares in the last quarter.

Agilent Technologies Price Performance

Shares of NYSE A opened at $123.35 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $35.04 billion, a PE ratio of 30.46, a PEG ratio of 3.74 and a beta of 1.23. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $115.23 and a 200 day moving average of $122.66. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55, a quick ratio of 1.60 and a current ratio of 2.09. 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 issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 28th. The medical research company reported $1.31 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.26 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $1.67 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.63 billion. Agilent Technologies had a net margin of 17.59% and a return on equity of 25.92%. The firm's revenue was up 6.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.22 EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that Agilent Technologies, Inc. will post 5.58 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Agilent Technologies Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 23rd. Investors of record on Tuesday, July 1st will be issued a $0.248 dividend. This represents a $0.99 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.80%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, July 1st. Agilent Technologies's dividend payout ratio is currently 24.44%.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Padraig Mcdonnell sold 1,508 shares of the company'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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 37,448 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,397,893.12. This represents a 3.87% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on shares of Agilent Technologies from $160.00 to $155.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note 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 note on Thursday, May 29th. Leerink Partners lifted their price objective on shares of Agilent Technologies to $135.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, May 30th. Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of 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, Evercore ISI lifted their price objective on shares of Agilent Technologies from $125.00 to $130.00 and gave the company an "in-line" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 8th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Agilent Technologies presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $139.77.

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.

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