Vega Investment Solutions Buys New Shares in Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A)

Vega Investment Solutions acquired a new stake in shares of Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm acquired 23,852 shares of the medical research company's stock, valued at approximately $3,204,000. Agilent Technologies comprises approximately 2.6% of Vega Investment Solutions' holdings, making the stock its 10th biggest position.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in A. Sunbelt Securities Inc. boosted its holdings in Agilent Technologies by 640.0% during the 4th quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. now owns 222 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 192 shares during the last quarter. GTS Securities LLC lifted its position in shares of Agilent Technologies by 104.9% during the fourth quarter. GTS Securities LLC now owns 2,380 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $320,000 after purchasing an additional 51,066 shares in the last quarter. Vise Technologies Inc. purchased a new position in Agilent Technologies during the fourth quarter worth about $320,000. JT Stratford LLC bought a new stake in Agilent Technologies in the 4th quarter worth about $1,009,000. Finally, Novem Group bought a new stake in Agilent Technologies in the 4th quarter worth about $831,000.

Insider Buying and Selling

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

Agilent Technologies Stock Performance

A traded up $0.14 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $111.40. The stock had a trading volume of 753,672 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,925,783. Agilent Technologies, Inc. has a 1 year low of $96.43 and a 1 year high of $153.84. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $108.98 and its 200 day simple moving average is $126.87. The stock has a market cap of $31.76 billion, a PE ratio of 25.60, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.06 and a beta of 1.27. The company has a quick ratio of 1.66, a current ratio of 2.20 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56.

Agilent Technologies (NYSE:A - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 26th. The medical research company reported $1.31 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.27 by $0.04. Agilent Technologies had a net margin of 19.27% and a return on equity of 25.56%. The firm had revenue of $1.68 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.67 billion. Equities analysts anticipate that Agilent Technologies, Inc. will post 5.54 earnings per share for the current year.

Agilent Technologies Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 23rd. Investors of record on Tuesday, July 1st will be issued a $0.248 dividend. This represents a $0.99 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.89%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, July 1st. Agilent Technologies's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 22.76%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on A. TD Cowen boosted their target price on Agilent Technologies to $135.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 10th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on Agilent Technologies from $155.00 to $135.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 17th. Robert W. Baird reduced their price objective on Agilent Technologies from $159.00 to $140.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 22nd. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their target price on Agilent Technologies from $135.00 to $116.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 21st. Finally, Barclays cut their price target on shares of Agilent Technologies from $138.00 to $115.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 10th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Agilent Technologies currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $141.42.

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.