Jefferies Financial Group Inc. Grows Position in Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A)

Jefferies Financial Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A - Free Report) by 205.7% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 125,176 shares of the medical research company's stock after purchasing an additional 84,228 shares during the period. Jefferies Financial Group Inc.'s holdings in Agilent Technologies were worth $16,816,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in A. Junto Capital Management LP acquired a new stake in Agilent Technologies in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $24,823,000. Humankind Investments LLC grew its holdings in Agilent Technologies by 14.7% during the 4th quarter. Humankind Investments LLC now owns 1,827 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $245,000 after purchasing an additional 234 shares in the last quarter. Focus Partners Wealth lifted its holdings in Agilent Technologies by 0.4% in the 4th quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 101,225 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $13,732,000 after buying an additional 444 shares in the last quarter. Ensign Peak Advisors Inc boosted its position in Agilent Technologies by 370.0% in the 4th quarter. Ensign Peak Advisors Inc now owns 124,575 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $16,735,000 after buying an additional 98,068 shares during the last quarter. Finally, FORA Capital LLC purchased a new position in Agilent Technologies in the 4th quarter valued at about $835,000.

Agilent Technologies Price Performance

Shares of NYSE A 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 PE ratio of 24.58, a P/E/G ratio of 3.01 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 business's fifty day moving average price is $111.53 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $128.77.

Agilent Technologies (NYSE:A - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 26th. The medical research company reported $1.31 earnings per share 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 for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.67 billion. On average, research analysts expect that Agilent Technologies, Inc. will post 5.54 EPS for the current year.

Agilent Technologies Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 23rd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, April 1st were issued a dividend of $0.248 per share. This represents a $0.99 annualized dividend and a dividend 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 brokerages have weighed in on A. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price objective on Agilent Technologies from $135.00 to $116.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 21st. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target 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 increased their price objective on shares of Agilent Technologies to $135.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 10th. Barclays decreased their price objective on shares of 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, Robert W. Baird reduced their price target on shares of Agilent Technologies from $161.00 to $159.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Agilent Technologies has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $143.00.

Insider Activity at Agilent Technologies

In other Agilent Technologies news, Director Daniel K. Podolsky sold 1,819 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, March 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $116.46, for a total transaction of $211,840.74. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 35,737 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,161,931.02. The trade was a 4.84 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, VP Rodney Gonsalves sold 1,908 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, March 17th. The shares were 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 $2,657,456.28. The trade was a 8.05 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here.

Agilent Technologies 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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