MML Investors Services LLC lowered its position in shares of Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A - Free Report) by 11.7% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 38,132 shares of the medical research company's stock after selling 5,073 shares during the period. MML Investors Services LLC's holdings in Agilent Technologies were worth $5,123,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.
Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Sienna Gestion lifted its holdings in shares of Agilent Technologies by 29.8% during the 4th quarter. Sienna Gestion now owns 78,445 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $10,537,000 after buying an additional 17,991 shares during the period. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Agilent Technologies by 8.5% in the fourth quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 33,898 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $4,554,000 after acquiring an additional 2,664 shares during the period. S.E.E.D. Planning Group LLC boosted its position in Agilent Technologies by 12.7% in the fourth 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 last quarter. Prudential PLC grew its stake in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 10,128 shares during the period. Finally, Commonwealth Equity Services LLC increased its position in shares of Agilent Technologies by 9.8% during the 4th quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 43,862 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $5,892,000 after purchasing an additional 3,915 shares during the last quarter.
Insider Activity at Agilent Technologies
In related news, VP Rodney Gonsalves sold 1,908 shares of Agilent Technologies 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 completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 21,786 shares in the company, valued at $2,657,456.28. This trade represents a 8.05 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Daniel K. Podolsky sold 1,819 shares of the company's 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 $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.
Wall Street Analyst Weigh In
Several analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Barclays cut their target price on shares of 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. TD Cowen upped their price objective on Agilent Technologies to $135.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 10th. Robert W. Baird lowered 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. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target 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. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price objective on Agilent Technologies from $135.00 to $116.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 21st. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $143.00.
Check Out Our Latest Stock Report on Agilent Technologies
Agilent Technologies Price Performance
A stock traded down $1.15 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $106.31. 583,660 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,870,821. Agilent Technologies, Inc. has a 52 week low of $96.43 and a 52 week high of $155.35. The stock has a market capitalization of $30.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.44, a P/E/G ratio of 3.01 and a beta of 1.19. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $115.21 and a 200 day simple moving average of $130.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56, a quick ratio of 1.66 and a current ratio of 2.20.
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 analysts' consensus estimates 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 the consensus estimate of $1.67 billion. As a group, research analysts expect that Agilent Technologies, Inc. will post 5.54 EPS for the current fiscal year.
Agilent Technologies Announces Dividend
The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 23rd. Investors of record on Tuesday, April 1st were paid a dividend of $0.248 per share. This represents a $0.99 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.93%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, April 1st. Agilent Technologies's dividend payout ratio is currently 22.76%.
Agilent Technologies Company Profile
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Free Report)
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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