Vise Technologies Inc. Takes Position in Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A)

Vise Technologies Inc. bought a new stake in Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 2,385 shares of the medical research company's stock, valued at approximately $320,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of A. Global X Japan Co. Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of Agilent Technologies by 161.1% during the fourth quarter. Global X Japan Co. Ltd. now owns 188 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 116 shares during the last quarter. Redwood Park Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Agilent Technologies during the fourth quarter worth about $27,000. Lee Danner & Bass Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Agilent Technologies during the fourth quarter worth about $29,000. Hanson & Doremus Investment Management grew its holdings in shares of Agilent Technologies by 66.5% during the fourth quarter. Hanson & Doremus Investment Management now owns 263 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 105 shares during the last quarter. Finally, OFI Invest Asset Management bought a new stake in shares of Agilent Technologies during the fourth quarter worth about $37,000.

Insider Transactions at Agilent Technologies

In related news, VP Rodney Gonsalves sold 1,908 shares of the 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 completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 21,786 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,657,456.28. This represents a 8.05% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Daniel K. Podolsky sold 1,819 shares of the firm'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 sale, the director now directly owns 35,737 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,161,931.02. This represents a 4.84% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently weighed in on A shares. Leerink Partners boosted their price target on Agilent Technologies to $135.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday. UBS Group reduced their price target on Agilent Technologies from $150.00 to $130.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday. Robert W. Baird reduced their target price on Agilent Technologies from $159.00 to $140.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, May 22nd. TD Cowen upped their target price on Agilent Technologies to $150.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reduced their target price on Agilent Technologies from $135.00 to $116.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 21st. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $140.15.

Agilent Technologies Trading Down 1.3%

A traded down $1.45 during trading on Friday, hitting $111.83. The company's stock had a trading volume of 4,751,122 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,957,412. Agilent Technologies, Inc. has a twelve month low of $96.43 and a twelve month high of $153.84. The company has a quick ratio of 1.66, a current ratio of 2.20 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $108.61 and its 200-day moving average price is $126.62. The firm has a market capitalization of $31.88 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.61, a PEG ratio of 3.13 and a beta of 1.27.

Agilent Technologies (NYSE:A - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, May 28th. The medical research company reported $1.31 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.26 by $0.05. Agilent Technologies had a return on equity of 26.13% and a net margin of 17.59%. The company had revenue of $1.67 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.63 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.22 earnings per share. Agilent Technologies's revenue for the quarter was up 6.0% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts anticipate that Agilent Technologies, Inc. will post 5.54 EPS for the current year.

Agilent Technologies Dividend Announcement

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 given a dividend of $0.248 per share. This represents a $0.99 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.89%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, July 1st. Agilent Technologies's payout ratio is 24.44%.

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.