Principal Financial Group Inc. Sells 6,780 Shares of Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A)

Principal Financial Group Inc. trimmed its position in Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A - Free Report) by 1.9% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 354,931 shares of the medical research company's stock after selling 6,780 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned approximately 0.12% of Agilent Technologies worth $41,520,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Redwood Park Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Agilent Technologies during the 4th quarter worth about $27,000. Lee Danner & Bass Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Agilent Technologies during the fourth quarter worth approximately $29,000. Sunbelt Securities Inc. grew its position in shares of Agilent Technologies by 640.0% in the fourth quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. now owns 222 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 192 shares during the last quarter. Whipplewood Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Agilent Technologies by 286.2% during the first quarter. Whipplewood Advisors LLC now owns 251 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 186 shares during the period. Finally, Wood Tarver Financial Group LLC acquired a new stake in Agilent Technologies during the 4th quarter worth approximately $34,000.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have weighed in on A shares. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on Agilent Technologies from $155.00 to $135.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. Jefferies Financial Group dropped 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 note on Monday, April 21st. TD Cowen increased their target price on shares of Agilent Technologies to $150.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 29th. UBS Group dropped their price target on shares of Agilent Technologies from $150.00 to $130.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, May 29th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on Agilent Technologies from $160.00 to $155.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, May 29th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Agilent Technologies presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $140.92.

Agilent Technologies Price Performance

Shares of NYSE A traded down $2.17 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $119.21. 1,459,663 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,844,968. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $113.79 and its 200-day moving average price is $123.14. The stock has a market cap of $33.86 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.43, a PEG ratio of 3.68 and a beta of 1.23. The company has a quick ratio of 1.60, a current ratio of 2.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55. 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 earnings results on Wednesday, May 28th. The medical research company reported $1.31 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.26 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $1.67 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.63 billion. Agilent Technologies had a return on equity of 25.92% and a net margin of 17.59%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 6.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.22 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Agilent Technologies, Inc. will post 5.58 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Agilent Technologies Announces Dividend

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. This represents a $0.99 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.83%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, July 1st. Agilent Technologies's dividend payout ratio is currently 24.44%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Padraig Mcdonnell sold 1,508 shares of the firm'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 in the company, valued at $4,397,893.12. This trade represents a 3.87% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website.

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.