Vident Advisory LLC Buys 90,349 Shares of Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A)

Vident Advisory LLC grew its stake in shares of Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A - Free Report) by 326.5% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 118,021 shares of the medical research company's stock after acquiring an additional 90,349 shares during the quarter. Vident Advisory LLC's holdings in Agilent Technologies were worth $15,855,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Agilent Technologies in the fourth quarter worth about $456,963,000. Madison Investment Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Agilent Technologies during the 4th quarter valued at $94,051,000. Two Sigma Investments LP grew its position in shares of Agilent Technologies by 345.9% during the 4th quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP now owns 769,897 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $103,428,000 after acquiring an additional 597,249 shares during the period. Iron Triangle Partners LP bought a new stake in shares of Agilent Technologies during the 4th quarter valued at $80,110,000. Finally, Marshall Wace LLP grew its position in shares of Agilent Technologies by 280.3% during the 4th quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 806,895 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $108,398,000 after acquiring an additional 594,744 shares during the period. 87.42% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on A. Jefferies Financial Group cut their price objective on shares of Agilent Technologies from $135.00 to $116.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 21st. Barclays dropped their price objective on Agilent Technologies from $138.00 to $115.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 10th. TD Cowen upped their price objective 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 objective on Agilent Technologies from $155.00 to $135.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. Finally, Robert W. Baird dropped 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. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Agilent Technologies presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $141.42.

Agilent Technologies Trading Down 1.0%

NYSE A traded down $1.07 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $108.61. 1,690,973 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,924,993. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $109.43 and a 200 day moving average price of $127.33. 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, Inc. has a 52 week low of $96.43 and a 52 week high of $153.84. The stock has a market cap of $30.97 billion, a PE ratio of 24.97, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.09 and a beta of 1.27.

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

Agilent Technologies Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.91%. Agilent Technologies's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 22.76%.

Insider Transactions at Agilent Technologies

In other Agilent Technologies news, VP Rodney Gonsalves sold 1,908 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, March 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $121.98, for a total value of $232,737.84. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 21,786 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,657,456.28. This represents a 8.05% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Daniel K. Podolsky sold 1,819 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, March 31st. The shares were 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 $4,161,931.02. This trade represents a 4.84% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.26% of the company's stock.

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.