Vanguard Group Inc. Buys 240,965 Shares of Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A)

Key Points

• Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in Agilent Technologies by 0.7%, acquiring 240,965 shares and now owning approximately 11.72% of the company, valued at about $3.9 billion.
• Agilent Technologies reported earnings of $1.31 per share, exceeding analyst estimates, with a revenue of $1.67 billion, indicating a 6% year-over-year growth.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.248 per share, reflecting an annual yield of 0.9% and a payout ratio of 24.44%.

Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A - Free Report) by 0.7% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 33,408,626 shares of the medical research company's stock after acquiring an additional 240,965 shares during the quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. owned about 11.72% of Agilent Technologies worth $3,908,141,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in A. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. boosted its stake in Agilent Technologies by 13.5% during the 1st quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 36,674 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $4,279,000 after purchasing an additional 4,362 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its stake in shares of Agilent Technologies by 8.3% in the first quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 30,827 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $3,606,000 after acquiring an additional 2,371 shares during the last quarter. Alps Advisors Inc. grew its stake in shares of Agilent Technologies by 29.5% in the first quarter. Alps Advisors Inc. now owns 13,358 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $1,563,000 after acquiring an additional 3,040 shares during the last quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. increased its position in Agilent Technologies by 30.4% during the first quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. now owns 9,474 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $1,108,000 after acquiring an additional 2,207 shares during the period. Finally, Live Oak Investment Partners acquired a new position in Agilent Technologies during the 1st quarter valued at $603,000.

Insider Transactions at Agilent Technologies

In related news, CEO Padraig Mcdonnell sold 1,508 shares of Agilent Technologies stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $117.44, for a total value of $177,099.52. Following the completion of 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 sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website.

Agilent Technologies Trading Up 0.6%

A stock opened at $113.88 on Friday. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $117.34 and a 200 day moving average price of $119.92. 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. The stock has a market capitalization of $32.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.12, a P/E/G ratio of 3.43 and a beta of 1.22.

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 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 analyst estimates of $1.63 billion. Agilent Technologies had a return on equity of 25.92% and a net margin of 17.59%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 6.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.22 earnings per share. Analysts expect that Agilent Technologies, Inc. will post 5.58 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Agilent Technologies Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 23rd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, July 1st were issued a dividend of $0.248 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, July 1st. This represents a $0.99 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.9%. Agilent Technologies's dividend payout ratio is currently 24.44%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Evercore ISI boosted their price objective on shares of Agilent Technologies from $125.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock an "in-line" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 8th. Jefferies Financial Group cut their price target on Agilent Technologies from $135.00 to $116.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on Agilent Technologies from $160.00 to $155.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, May 29th. Leerink Partners upped their target price on Agilent Technologies to $135.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, May 30th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on Agilent Technologies from $155.00 to $135.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Agilent Technologies presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $139.77.

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.

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