Rhumbline Advisers Increases Stake in Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A)

Rhumbline Advisers boosted its holdings in Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A - Free Report) by 2.7% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 569,011 shares of the medical research company's stock after acquiring an additional 15,137 shares during the quarter. Rhumbline Advisers owned 0.20% of Agilent Technologies worth $66,563,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its position in 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 shares of 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 valued at $938,291,000 after purchasing an additional 53,992 shares in the last quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA grew its holdings in shares of Agilent Technologies by 0.9% during the 4th quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA now owns 5,213,739 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $700,414,000 after purchasing an additional 47,495 shares during the last quarter. Deutsche Bank AG raised its position 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 during the period. Finally, Northern Trust Corp lifted its stake in Agilent Technologies by 12.3% in the fourth 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 during the last quarter.

Insider Transactions at Agilent Technologies

In other news, Director Daniel K. Podolsky sold 1,819 shares of the firm'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 sale, the director now directly owns 35,737 shares in the company, valued at $4,161,931.02. This trade represents a 4.84% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, VP Rodney Gonsalves sold 1,908 shares of Agilent Technologies stock in a transaction on Monday, March 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $121.98, for a total transaction of $232,737.84. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 21,786 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,657,456.28. This trade represents a 8.05% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on A shares. 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 report on Thursday, May 29th. Robert W. Baird lowered their price objective on shares of Agilent Technologies from $159.00 to $140.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 22nd. Barclays reduced their price target on Agilent Technologies from $138.00 to $115.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective 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. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on Agilent Technologies from $155.00 to $135.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $140.15.

Agilent Technologies Stock Performance

NYSE:A traded down $1.06 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $113.88. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,845,345 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,921,224. The company has a current ratio of 2.09, a quick ratio of 1.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55. The stock has a market cap of $32.47 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.12, a PEG ratio of 3.42 and a beta of 1.23. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $108.11 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $126.10. Agilent Technologies, Inc. has a 12-month low of $96.43 and a 12-month high of $153.84.

Agilent Technologies (NYSE:A - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 28th. The medical research company reported $1.31 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.26 by $0.05. The company 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%. Agilent Technologies'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 business earned $1.22 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast that Agilent Technologies, Inc. will post 5.58 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Agilent Technologies Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 23rd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, July 1st will be paid a dividend of $0.248 per share. This represents a $0.99 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.87%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, July 1st. Agilent Technologies's dividend payout ratio is presently 24.44%.

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.