Teacher Retirement System of Texas Sells 49,370 Shares of Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A)

Teacher Retirement System of Texas lowered its stake in shares of Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A - Free Report) by 20.8% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 188,402 shares of the medical research company's stock after selling 49,370 shares during the quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas owned approximately 0.07% of Agilent Technologies worth $22,039,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in A. Redwood Park Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Agilent Technologies during the 4th quarter worth about $27,000. Lee Danner & Bass Inc. bought a new position in shares of Agilent Technologies in the 4th quarter valued at about $29,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 186 shares during the last quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. boosted its stake in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 192 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Opal Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Agilent Technologies in the 1st quarter valued at about $31,000.

Agilent Technologies Stock Up 0.4%

Agilent Technologies stock opened at $121.16 on Friday. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $113.79 and its 200 day simple moving average is $123.27. Agilent Technologies, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $96.43 and a fifty-two week high of $153.84. The firm has a market capitalization of $34.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.91, a PEG ratio of 3.68 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 (NYSE:A - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, May 28th. The medical research company reported $1.31 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.26 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $1.67 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.63 billion. Agilent Technologies had a net margin of 17.59% and a return on equity of 25.92%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 6.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.22 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Agilent Technologies, Inc. will post 5.58 EPS for the current year.

Agilent Technologies Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 23rd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, July 1st will be issued a $0.248 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, July 1st. This represents a $0.99 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.82%. Agilent Technologies's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 24.44%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Padraig Mcdonnell sold 1,508 shares of Agilent Technologies stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $117.44, for a total value of $177,099.52. Following the sale, 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 transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A has been the topic of several recent research reports. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on shares of Agilent Technologies from $155.00 to $135.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their target price on shares of Agilent Technologies from $135.00 to $116.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on shares of Agilent Technologies from $160.00 to $155.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, May 29th. Leerink Partners raised their target price on shares of Agilent Technologies to $135.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, May 30th. Finally, Robert W. Baird reduced their target price on shares of Agilent Technologies from $159.00 to $140.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, May 22nd. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $140.92.

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.

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