Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. Has $10.83 Million Position in Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A)

Key Points

• Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its stake in Agilent Technologies by 7.7%, acquiring an additional 6,642 shares in the first quarter for a total holding of 92,633 shares valued at approximately $10.83 million.
• Agilent Technologies recently received an upgrade from Wall Street Zen, moving from a "hold" to a "buy" rating, while various analysts adjusted their price targets, with a consensus target price of $139.77.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.248, yielding 0.8%, with a payout ratio of 24.44%, highlighting its commitment to returning value to shareholders.

Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted its position in Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A - Free Report) by 7.7% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 92,633 shares of the medical research company's stock after purchasing an additional 6,642 shares during the period. Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd.'s holdings in Agilent Technologies were worth $10,832,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of A. Whipplewood Advisors LLC boosted its holdings 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 last quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Agilent Technologies by 640.0% during the fourth quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. now owns 222 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 192 shares during the last quarter. Stone House Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Agilent Technologies during the first quarter worth $30,000. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Agilent Technologies during the first quarter worth $31,000. Finally, Wood Tarver Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in Agilent Technologies in the fourth quarter valued at $34,000. 87.41% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Agilent Technologies

In other Agilent Technologies news, CEO Padraig Mcdonnell sold 1,508 shares of the 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 directly owned 37,448 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,397,893.12. This represents a 3.87% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.26% of the company's stock.

Agilent Technologies Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:A traded up $0.43 during trading on Friday, reaching $119.30. The stock had a trading volume of 1,238,463 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,437,926. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $33.89 billion, a PE ratio of 29.46, a P/E/G ratio of 3.62 and a beta of 1.22. The business's 50-day moving average price is $117.82 and its 200 day moving average price is $118.31. Agilent Technologies, Inc. has a 52 week low of $96.43 and a 52 week high of $153.84.

Agilent Technologies (NYSE:A - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 28th. The medical research company reported $1.31 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.22 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that Agilent Technologies, Inc. will post 5.58 earnings per share for the current year.

Agilent Technologies Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 23rd. Investors of record on Tuesday, July 1st were paid a $0.248 dividend. This represents a $0.99 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.8%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, July 1st. Agilent Technologies's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 24.44%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have commented on A. UBS Group reduced their price objective on Agilent Technologies from $150.00 to $130.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, May 29th. Leerink Partners boosted their price objective on Agilent Technologies to $135.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, May 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on Agilent Technologies from $160.00 to $155.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, May 29th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Agilent Technologies from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Saturday, June 28th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price target on Agilent Technologies from $135.00 to $116.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 21st. Six 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, the company presently has an average 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.