Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. Purchases 4,727 Shares of Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A)

Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. lifted its position in Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A - Free Report) by 76.6% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 10,902 shares of the medical research company's stock after purchasing an additional 4,727 shares during the quarter. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc.'s holdings in Agilent Technologies were worth $1,465,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. CKW Financial Group lifted its stake in shares of Agilent Technologies by 114.9% in the 4th quarter. CKW Financial Group now owns 187 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. Global X Japan Co. Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of 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 valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 116 shares during the last quarter. Redwood Park Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Agilent Technologies in the 4th quarter valued at about $27,000. Lee Danner & Bass Inc. bought a new position in Agilent Technologies during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Finally, Hanson & Doremus Investment Management raised its position in Agilent Technologies by 66.5% during the 4th quarter. Hanson & Doremus Investment Management now owns 263 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 105 shares during the last quarter.

Agilent Technologies Stock Down 0.8 %

A traded down $0.84 during trading on Thursday, hitting $106.76. 473,670 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,871,752. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $114.66 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $130.34. The company has a current ratio of 2.20, a quick ratio of 1.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56. Agilent Technologies, Inc. has a 12-month low of $96.43 and a 12-month high of $155.35. The stock has a market capitalization of $30.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.54, a PEG ratio of 3.03 and a beta of 1.19.

Agilent Technologies (NYSE:A - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 26th. The medical research company reported $1.31 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.27 by $0.04. Agilent Technologies had a net margin of 19.27% and a return on equity of 25.56%. The firm had revenue of $1.68 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.67 billion. Analysts predict that Agilent Technologies, Inc. will post 5.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Agilent Technologies Dividend Announcement

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other 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 transaction of $232,737.84. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 21,786 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,657,456.28. This represents a 8.05 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Daniel K. Podolsky sold 1,819 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the director now owns 35,737 shares of the company's stock, valued at $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.

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.