Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A) Shares Sold by Victory Capital Management Inc.

Victory Capital Management Inc. trimmed its position in Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A - Free Report) by 44.1% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,205,529 shares of the medical research company's stock after selling 949,796 shares during the quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. owned about 0.42% of Agilent Technologies worth $141,023,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. grew its holdings 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 last quarter. Prudential PLC increased its holdings in Agilent Technologies by 16.0% during the fourth 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 raised its stake in Agilent Technologies by 9.8% in the fourth quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 43,862 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $5,892,000 after buying an additional 3,915 shares in the last quarter. Horizon Investments LLC lifted its holdings in Agilent Technologies by 435.3% during the fourth quarter. Horizon Investments LLC now owns 21,198 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $2,848,000 after buying an additional 17,238 shares during the period. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its stake in shares of Agilent Technologies by 8.3% during the 1st quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 30,827 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $3,606,000 after purchasing an additional 2,371 shares during the last quarter.

Insider Buying and Selling at Agilent Technologies

In other Agilent Technologies news, CEO Padraig Mcdonnell sold 1,508 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 1st. The shares were 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 owned 37,448 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,397,893.12. This represents a 3.87% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website.

Agilent Technologies Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:A traded down $2.39 during trading on Friday, reaching $113.97. 1,521,841 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,052,600. The company has a quick ratio of 1.60, a current ratio of 2.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55. 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 50-day simple moving average of $115.90 and a 200-day simple moving average of $122.30. The firm has a market cap of $32.38 billion, a PE ratio of 28.14, a P/E/G ratio of 3.44 and a beta of 1.23.

Agilent Technologies (NYSE:A - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 28th. The medical research company reported $1.31 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.26 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $1.67 billion for 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%. Agilent Technologies's quarterly revenue was up 6.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.22 earnings per share. As a group, 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 announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 23rd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, July 1st will be issued a dividend of $0.248 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, July 1st. This represents a $0.99 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.87%. Agilent Technologies's payout ratio is currently 24.44%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on the stock. Barclays increased their target price on shares of Agilent Technologies from $115.00 to $125.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 24th. Leerink Partners increased their price target on Agilent Technologies to $135.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, May 30th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on shares of Agilent Technologies from $155.00 to $135.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. TD Cowen boosted their price target on Agilent Technologies to $150.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 29th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded Agilent Technologies from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Saturday, June 28th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Agilent Technologies currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $139.77.

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.