Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A) Shares Sold by Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc.

Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. lessened its stake in shares of Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A - Free Report) by 0.9% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 662,049 shares of the medical research company's stock after selling 5,807 shares during the quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. owned approximately 0.23% of Agilent Technologies worth $77,446,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Sienna Gestion grew its holdings in Agilent Technologies by 29.8% in the 4th quarter. Sienna Gestion now owns 78,445 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $10,537,000 after buying an additional 17,991 shares during the period. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Agilent Technologies by 8.5% in the 4th quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 33,898 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $4,554,000 after buying an additional 2,664 shares during the period. Prudential PLC grew its holdings in Agilent Technologies by 16.0% in the 4th quarter. Prudential PLC now owns 73,273 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $9,843,000 after buying an additional 10,128 shares during the period. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC grew its holdings in Agilent Technologies by 9.8% in the 4th quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 43,862 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $5,892,000 after buying an additional 3,915 shares during the period. Finally, Daiwa Securities Group Inc. grew its holdings in Agilent Technologies by 16.0% in the 4th quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 49,288 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $6,621,000 after buying an additional 6,802 shares during the period.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have commented on A shares. TD Cowen lifted their price target on Agilent Technologies to $150.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, May 29th. UBS Group lowered their price target on Agilent Technologies from $150.00 to $130.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, May 29th. Leerink Partners boosted their target price on Agilent Technologies to $135.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, May 30th. Robert W. Baird decreased their target price on Agilent Technologies from $159.00 to $140.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, May 22nd. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded Agilent Technologies from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Saturday. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $140.92.

Agilent Technologies Stock Up 2.0%

Agilent Technologies stock traded up $2.32 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $120.33. 1,935,694 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,850,053. The company's fifty day moving average price is $112.54 and its 200-day moving average price is $123.53. The company has a market cap of $34.18 billion, a PE ratio of 29.71, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.62 and a beta of 1.23. 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 fifty-two week low of $96.43 and a fifty-two week high of $153.84.

Agilent Technologies (NYSE:A - Get Free Report) last announced 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 return on equity of 25.92% and a net margin of 17.59%. The company had revenue of $1.67 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.63 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.22 EPS. Agilent Technologies's quarterly revenue was up 6.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts predict that Agilent Technologies, Inc. will post 5.58 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Agilent Technologies Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 23rd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, July 1st will be given a $0.248 dividend. This represents a $0.99 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.82%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, July 1st. Agilent Technologies's payout ratio is 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.