First Manhattan CO. LLC. Cuts Stock Position in Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A)

First Manhattan CO. LLC. trimmed its position in shares of Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A - Free Report) by 4.3% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 81,912 shares of the medical research company's stock after selling 3,637 shares during the quarter. First Manhattan CO. LLC.'s holdings in Agilent Technologies were worth $11,024,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. CKW Financial Group boosted its holdings in Agilent Technologies by 114.9% in the fourth quarter. CKW Financial Group now owns 187 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. Global X Japan Co. Ltd. boosted its stake in Agilent Technologies by 161.1% in the 4th 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 in the last quarter. Redwood Park Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Agilent Technologies during the 4th quarter worth approximately $27,000. Lee Danner & Bass Inc. acquired a new position in Agilent Technologies during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Finally, Hanson & Doremus Investment Management raised its holdings in shares of Agilent Technologies by 66.5% in the fourth quarter. Hanson & Doremus Investment Management now owns 263 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $35,000 after buying an additional 105 shares during the last quarter.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, VP Rodney Gonsalves sold 1,908 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 owns 21,786 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,657,456.28. This trade represents a 8.05 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Daniel K. Podolsky sold 1,819 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, March 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $116.46, for a total value of $211,840.74. Following 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.

Agilent Technologies Price Performance

NYSE:A opened at $106.93 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $30.49 billion, a PE ratio of 24.58, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.06 and a beta of 1.27. Agilent Technologies, Inc. has a 52 week low of $96.43 and a 52 week high of $155.35. 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 50-day moving average price is $111.53 and its 200-day moving average price is $128.80.

Agilent Technologies (NYSE:A - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 26th. The medical research company reported $1.31 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.27 by $0.04. Agilent Technologies had a return on equity of 25.56% and a net margin of 19.27%. The business had revenue of $1.68 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.67 billion. As a group, equities analysts expect that Agilent Technologies, Inc. will post 5.54 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Agilent Technologies Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 23rd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, April 1st were paid a dividend of $0.248 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, April 1st. This represents a $0.99 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.93%. Agilent Technologies's dividend payout ratio is currently 22.76%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Robert W. Baird dropped their price objective on shares of Agilent Technologies from $161.00 to $159.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 27th. TD Cowen increased their price objective on Agilent Technologies to $135.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, April 10th. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their target price on Agilent Technologies from $135.00 to $116.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 21st. Barclays cut their price target on shares of Agilent Technologies from $138.00 to $115.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 10th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective 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. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $143.00.

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.