PKO Investment Management Joint Stock Co Increases Stock Position in Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A)

PKO Investment Management Joint Stock Co grew its position in Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A - Free Report) by 136.1% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 8,500 shares of the medical research company's stock after buying an additional 4,900 shares during the quarter. PKO Investment Management Joint Stock Co's holdings in Agilent Technologies were worth $994,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in A. Brighton Jones LLC grew its holdings in shares of Agilent Technologies by 6.1% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 4,663 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $626,000 after purchasing an additional 270 shares during the last quarter. Savant Capital LLC grew its holdings in shares of Agilent Technologies by 3.5% during the 4th quarter. Savant Capital LLC now owns 3,535 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $475,000 after purchasing an additional 119 shares during the last quarter. Allworth Financial LP grew its holdings in shares of Agilent Technologies by 55.1% during the 4th quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 6,647 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $893,000 after purchasing an additional 2,361 shares during the last quarter. Sheaff Brock Investment Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Agilent Technologies during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $789,000. Finally, Sanctuary Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Agilent Technologies by 5.5% during the 4th quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 15,927 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $2,140,000 after purchasing an additional 837 shares during the last quarter.

Agilent Technologies Stock Down 0.4%

Shares of Agilent Technologies stock traded down $0.47 during trading on Thursday, reaching $115.62. 1,560,337 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,904,036. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55, a current ratio of 2.09 and a quick ratio of 1.60. Agilent Technologies, Inc. has a 1-year low of $96.43 and a 1-year high of $153.84. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $110.41 and a 200-day moving average price of $124.86. The firm has a market capitalization of $32.84 billion, a PE ratio of 28.55, a P/E/G ratio of 3.51 and a beta of 1.23.

Agilent Technologies (NYSE:A - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, May 28th. The medical research company reported $1.31 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.26 by $0.05. Agilent Technologies had a net margin of 17.59% and a return on equity of 25.92%. The company had revenue of $1.67 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.63 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.22 EPS. Agilent Technologies's quarterly revenue was up 6.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Agilent Technologies, Inc. will post 5.58 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Agilent Technologies Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 23rd. Investors of record on Tuesday, July 1st will be given a dividend of $0.248 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, July 1st. This represents a $0.99 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.86%. Agilent Technologies's payout ratio is presently 24.44%.

Insider Activity at Agilent Technologies

In other Agilent Technologies news, Director Daniel K. Podolsky sold 1,819 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, March 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $116.46, for a total transaction of $211,840.74. Following the transaction, the director now owns 35,737 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,161,931.02. This represents a 4.84% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on A shares. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Agilent Technologies from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, June 14th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on shares of Agilent Technologies from $155.00 to $135.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 17th. TD Cowen boosted their target price on shares of Agilent Technologies to $150.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, May 29th. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their target price on shares of Agilent Technologies from $135.00 to $116.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 21st. Finally, Robert W. Baird reduced their target price on shares of Agilent Technologies from $159.00 to $140.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, May 22nd. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Agilent Technologies presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $140.15.

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.