Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank Buys 11,079 Shares of Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A)

Key Points

• Zurcher Kantonalbank increased its holdings in Agilent Technologies by 4.9% in Q1, owning 236,725 shares valued at approximately $27.69 million.
• Agilent Technologies reported earnings per share of $1.31 for the most recent quarter, surpassing analysts' expectations by $0.05, with a revenue of $1.67 billion.
• The company recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.248, translating to an annualized dividend yield of 0.83%.

Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank boosted its holdings in Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A - Free Report) by 4.9% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 236,725 shares of the medical research company's stock after purchasing an additional 11,079 shares during the period. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank owned about 0.08% of Agilent Technologies worth $27,692,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Empirical Finance LLC increased its stake in Agilent Technologies by 2.2% in the 1st quarter. Empirical Finance LLC now owns 10,330 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $1,208,000 after acquiring an additional 225 shares during the last quarter. Applied Finance Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Agilent Technologies by 24.0% in the 1st quarter. Applied Finance Capital Management LLC now owns 6,698 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $784,000 after acquiring an additional 1,298 shares during the last quarter. Assetmark Inc. increased its stake in Agilent Technologies by 11.1% in the 1st quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 150,171 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $17,567,000 after acquiring an additional 15,063 shares during the last quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers increased its stake in Agilent Technologies by 8.1% in the 1st quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 36,267 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $4,243,000 after acquiring an additional 2,723 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Machina Capital S.A.S. bought a new position in Agilent Technologies in the 1st quarter worth about $1,630,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.41% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. Evercore ISI raised their price target on Agilent Technologies from $125.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock an "in-line" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on Agilent Technologies from $160.00 to $155.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, May 29th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on Agilent Technologies from $155.00 to $135.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. Wall Street Zen raised Agilent Technologies from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Saturday, June 28th. Finally, TD Cowen lifted their target price on Agilent Technologies to $150.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, May 29th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $139.77.

Agilent Technologies Trading Down 1.5%

A traded down $1.78 during trading on Friday, hitting $113.03. The company's stock had a trading volume of 832,487 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,023,153. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55, a current ratio of 2.09 and a quick ratio of 1.60. The stock has a market cap of $32.11 billion, a PE ratio of 27.91, a PEG ratio of 3.58 and a beta of 1.23. Agilent Technologies, Inc. has a twelve month low of $96.43 and a twelve month high of $153.84. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $116.98 and its 200-day moving average price is $120.99.

Agilent Technologies (NYSE:A - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 28th. The medical research company reported $1.31 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.26 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $1.67 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.63 billion. Agilent Technologies had a net margin of 17.59% and a return on equity of 25.92%. The business's revenue was up 6.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.22 EPS. On average, analysts expect that Agilent Technologies, Inc. will post 5.58 earnings per share for the current year.

Agilent Technologies Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 23rd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, July 1st were paid a $0.248 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, July 1st. This represents a $0.99 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.9%. Agilent Technologies's payout ratio is 24.44%.

Insider Transactions at Agilent Technologies

In related news, CEO Padraig Mcdonnell sold 1,508 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $117.44, for a total transaction of $177,099.52. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 37,448 shares in the company, valued at $4,397,893.12. This represents a 3.87% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 0.26% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.