Vontobel Holding Ltd. Grows Position in Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A)

Vontobel Holding Ltd. raised its stake in shares of Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A - Free Report) by 16.3% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 19,444 shares of the medical research company's stock after purchasing an additional 2,730 shares during the period. Vontobel Holding Ltd.'s holdings in Agilent Technologies were worth $2,275,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Redwood Park Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Agilent Technologies in the fourth quarter worth approximately $27,000. Lee Danner & Bass Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Agilent Technologies in the fourth quarter worth approximately $29,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Agilent Technologies by 286.2% in the first quarter. Whipplewood Advisors LLC now owns 251 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 186 shares during the period. Sunbelt Securities Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Agilent Technologies by 640.0% in the fourth quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. now owns 222 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 192 shares during the period. Finally, Opal Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Agilent Technologies in the first quarter worth approximately $31,000.

Agilent Technologies Stock Performance

A stock traded down $2.17 during trading on Monday, reaching $119.21. The company had a trading volume of 1,459,663 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,844,970. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $114.04 and a 200-day simple moving average of $123.03. The company has a market cap of $33.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.43, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.68 and a beta of 1.23. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55, a quick ratio of 1.60 and a current ratio of 2.09. Agilent Technologies, Inc. has a twelve month low of $96.43 and a twelve month high of $153.84.

Agilent Technologies (NYSE:A - Get Free Report) last announced 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. Agilent Technologies had a net margin of 17.59% and a return on equity of 25.92%. The business had revenue of $1.67 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.63 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.22 EPS. The business's quarterly revenue was up 6.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Agilent Technologies, Inc. will post 5.58 earnings per share 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 issued a dividend of $0.248 per share. This represents a $0.99 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.83%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, July 1st. Agilent Technologies's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 24.44%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price target on Agilent Technologies from $135.00 to $116.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 21st. Wall Street Zen raised Agilent Technologies from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, June 28th. Leerink Partners increased their price objective on Agilent Technologies to $135.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, May 30th. Robert W. Baird dropped their price objective on Agilent Technologies from $159.00 to $140.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, May 22nd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on Agilent Technologies from $160.00 to $155.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, May 29th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Agilent Technologies presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $140.92.

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 that occurred on Tuesday, July 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $117.44, for a total transaction of $177,099.52. Following the transaction, 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 ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink.

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.