Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A) Shares Purchased by Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV

Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV increased its holdings in Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A - Free Report) by 6.7% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 48,431 shares of the medical research company's stock after purchasing an additional 3,021 shares during the period. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV's holdings in Agilent Technologies were worth $6,506,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. CKW Financial Group grew its holdings in Agilent Technologies by 114.9% during the 4th quarter. CKW Financial Group now owns 187 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. Global X Japan Co. Ltd. boosted its position in shares of Agilent Technologies by 161.1% during 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 purchased a new position in shares of Agilent Technologies in the fourth quarter valued at $27,000. Lee Danner & Bass Inc. bought a new stake in Agilent Technologies in the fourth quarter worth $29,000. Finally, Hanson & Doremus Investment Management raised its stake in Agilent Technologies by 66.5% during the fourth 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 in the last quarter. 87.42% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Agilent Technologies Trading Down 1.6 %

Shares of Agilent Technologies stock traded down $1.77 on Friday, hitting $106.93. 1,367,771 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,885,905. The company has a current ratio of 2.20, a quick ratio of 1.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $111.85 and its 200-day moving average price is $128.99. The company has a market cap of $30.49 billion, a PE ratio of 24.58, a PEG ratio of 3.03 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.

Agilent Technologies (NYSE:A - Get Free Report) last announced 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 return on equity of 25.56% and a net margin of 19.27%. The firm had revenue of $1.68 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.67 billion. Equities research analysts predict 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 given a dividend of $0.248 per share. This represents a $0.99 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.93%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, April 1st. Agilent Technologies's payout ratio is currently 22.76%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Agilent Technologies

In other Agilent Technologies news, Director Daniel K. Podolsky sold 1,819 shares of Agilent Technologies stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $116.46, for a total transaction of $211,840.74. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 35,737 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,161,931.02. This trade represents a 4.84 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, VP Rodney Gonsalves sold 1,908 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, March 17th. The shares were 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 owns 21,786 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,657,456.28. This represents a 8.05 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.26% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently issued reports on A shares. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on shares of Agilent Technologies from $155.00 to $135.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report 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 note on Thursday, April 10th. Barclays cut their target price on Agilent Technologies from $138.00 to $115.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 10th. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price target 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, Robert W. Baird cut their price objective 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 equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average 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.