Mufg Securities Americas Inc. Purchases Shares of 4,242 Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A)

Mufg Securities Americas Inc. bought a new position in Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm bought 4,242 shares of the medical research company's stock, valued at approximately $570,000.

Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. CKW Financial Group raised its holdings 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 worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the period. Global X Japan Co. Ltd. boosted its stake in Agilent Technologies by 161.1% in the fourth quarter. Global X Japan Co. Ltd. now owns 188 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 116 shares in the last quarter. Redwood Park Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Agilent Technologies in the fourth quarter worth about $27,000. Lee Danner & Bass Inc. bought a new stake in Agilent Technologies in the 4th quarter worth $29,000. Finally, Hanson & Doremus Investment Management increased its stake in shares of 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 buying an additional 105 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.42% of the company's stock.

Agilent Technologies Trading Down 0.4%

Shares of A stock traded down $0.45 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $113.32. The company had a trading volume of 1,965,787 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,904,845. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $32.31 billion, a PE ratio of 26.05, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.21 and a beta of 1.27. Agilent Technologies, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $96.43 and a fifty-two week high of $154.95. The company's fifty day moving average is $110.44 and its 200 day moving average is $128.16.

Agilent Technologies (NYSE:A - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 26th. The medical research company reported $1.31 EPS for the quarter, topping 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. Research analysts expect that Agilent Technologies, Inc. will post 5.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Agilent Technologies Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 23rd. Investors of record on Tuesday, April 1st were paid a $0.248 dividend. This represents a $0.99 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.88%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, April 1st. Agilent Technologies's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 22.76%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have issued reports on A shares. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on Agilent Technologies from $155.00 to $135.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their target price on Agilent Technologies from $135.00 to $116.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 21st. Robert W. Baird cut their price objective on shares of Agilent Technologies from $161.00 to $159.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. TD Cowen lifted their price target on shares of Agilent Technologies to $135.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, April 10th. Finally, Barclays cut 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 equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $143.00.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Agilent Technologies news, Director Daniel K. Podolsky sold 1,819 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated 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 trade represents a 4.84% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, VP Rodney Gonsalves sold 1,908 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, March 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $121.98, for a total value of $232,737.84. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 21,786 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,657,456.28. This trade represents a 8.05% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.26% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.