Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. Lowers Stock Holdings in Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A)

Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. lowered its holdings in shares of Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A - Free Report) by 9.6% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 148,640 shares of the medical research company's stock after selling 15,830 shares during the quarter. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. owned approximately 0.05% of Agilent Technologies worth $17,388,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Redwood Park Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Agilent Technologies during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Lee Danner & Bass Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Agilent Technologies during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Sunbelt Securities Inc. raised 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 valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 192 shares during the last quarter. Whipplewood Advisors LLC raised 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 valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 186 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wood Tarver Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Agilent Technologies during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $34,000.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently commented on the company. UBS Group cut 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. TD Cowen increased their price target on Agilent Technologies to $150.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, May 29th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on Agilent Technologies from $155.00 to $135.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 17th. 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. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut Agilent Technologies from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $140.15.

Insider Transactions at Agilent Technologies

In related news, Director Daniel K. Podolsky sold 1,819 shares of Agilent Technologies stock in a transaction on Monday, March 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $116.46, for a total value of $211,840.74. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 35,737 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,161,931.02. This trade represents a 4.84% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink.

Agilent Technologies Trading Down 1.6%

Shares of Agilent Technologies stock opened at $116.97 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $33.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.88, a PEG ratio of 3.55 and a beta of 1.23. Agilent Technologies, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $96.43 and a fifty-two week high of $153.84. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55, a quick ratio of 1.60 and a current ratio of 2.09. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $109.34 and a 200 day moving average of $125.29.

Agilent Technologies (NYSE:A - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly 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. Agilent Technologies had a return on equity of 25.92% and a net margin of 17.59%. The business had revenue of $1.67 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.63 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.22 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was up 6.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts predict that Agilent Technologies, Inc. will post 5.58 earnings per share for the current year.

Agilent Technologies Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 23rd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, July 1st will be given a dividend of $0.248 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, July 1st. This represents a $0.99 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.85%. Agilent Technologies's dividend payout ratio is currently 24.44%.

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.

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