Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD Trims Position in Agilent Technologies, Inc. $A

Key Points

• Price T Rowe Associates significantly reduced its stake in Agilent Technologies by 52.1%, holding 527,416 shares worth approximately $61.7 million after selling 572,952 shares in Q1.
• Multiple institutional investors have increased their positions, with Whipplewood Advisors raising their holdings by 286.2% and Sunbelt Securities increasing theirs by 640.0% in recent quarters.
• Analysts have mixed views on Agilent, with recent price targets ranging from $125 to $155, and the stock currently carries a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy."

Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD trimmed its holdings in shares of Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A - Free Report) by 52.1% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 527,416 shares of the medical research company's stock after selling 572,952 shares during the quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD owned 0.18% of Agilent Technologies worth $61,698,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of A. Whipplewood Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Agilent Technologies by 286.2% in the 1st quarter. Whipplewood Advisors LLC now owns 251 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 186 shares during the period. Sunbelt Securities Inc. raised its holdings in Agilent Technologies by 640.0% in the 4th quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. now owns 222 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 192 shares during the period. Stone House Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in Agilent Technologies in the 1st quarter valued at about $30,000. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Agilent Technologies in the 1st quarter valued at about $31,000. Finally, Wood Tarver Financial Group LLC purchased a new stake in Agilent Technologies in the 4th quarter valued at about $34,000.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently issued reports on A. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective 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. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of Agilent Technologies from $115.00 to $125.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Tuesday, June 24th. UBS Group dropped their target price on Agilent Technologies from $150.00 to $130.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, May 29th. Evercore ISI lifted their target price on Agilent Technologies from $125.00 to $130.00 and gave the company an "in-line" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 8th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised Agilent Technologies from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Saturday, June 28th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Agilent Technologies presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $138.83.

Insider Activity at Agilent Technologies

In other news, CEO Padraig Mcdonnell sold 1,508 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $117.44, for a total transaction of $177,099.52. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 37,448 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,397,893.12. The trade was a 3.87% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website.

Agilent Technologies Stock Performance

Shares of Agilent Technologies stock opened at $118.44 on Wednesday. Agilent Technologies, Inc. has a one year low of $96.43 and a one year high of $153.84. The company has a market cap of $33.64 billion, a PE ratio of 29.24, a P/E/G ratio of 3.62 and a beta of 1.22. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55, a quick ratio of 1.60 and a current ratio of 2.09. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $117.93 and a 200-day simple moving average of $116.88.

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

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.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding A? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A - Free Report).

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.