FORA Capital LLC Makes New Investment in Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A)

FORA Capital LLC acquired a new position in Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 6,212 shares of the medical research company's stock, valued at approximately $835,000.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Sienna Gestion raised its holdings in Agilent Technologies by 29.8% during the fourth quarter. Sienna Gestion now owns 78,445 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $10,537,000 after acquiring an additional 17,991 shares during the period. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Agilent Technologies by 8.5% in the 4th quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 33,898 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $4,554,000 after purchasing an additional 2,664 shares in the last quarter. S.E.E.D. Planning Group LLC boosted its stake in Agilent Technologies by 12.7% in the 4th quarter. S.E.E.D. Planning Group LLC now owns 42,587 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $5,721,000 after purchasing an additional 4,805 shares during the period. Prudential PLC grew its holdings in Agilent Technologies by 16.0% during the 4th quarter. Prudential PLC now owns 73,273 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $9,843,000 after buying an additional 10,128 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Commonwealth Equity Services LLC raised its position in shares of Agilent Technologies by 9.8% during the fourth quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 43,862 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $5,892,000 after buying an additional 3,915 shares during the last quarter.

Agilent Technologies Stock Performance

Agilent Technologies stock opened at $106.93 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56, a current ratio of 2.20 and a quick ratio of 1.66. The firm has a market capitalization of $30.49 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.58, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.06 and a beta of 1.27. Agilent Technologies, Inc. has a 1-year low of $96.43 and a 1-year high of $155.35. The company's 50-day moving average is $111.53 and its 200 day moving average is $128.80.

Agilent Technologies (NYSE:A - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results 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. The firm had revenue of $1.68 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.67 billion. Agilent Technologies had a return on equity of 25.56% and a net margin of 19.27%. Research analysts forecast that Agilent Technologies, Inc. will post 5.54 EPS for the current year.

Agilent Technologies Dividend Announcement

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Agilent Technologies

In other Agilent Technologies news, VP Rodney Gonsalves sold 1,908 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $121.98, for a total transaction of $232,737.84. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 21,786 shares in the company, 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 Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Daniel K. Podolsky sold 1,819 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $116.46, for a total transaction of $211,840.74. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 35,737 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,161,931.02. This represents a 4.84 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here.

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.

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