Cantillon Capital Management LLC Reduces Position in Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A)

Cantillon Capital Management LLC cut its position in shares of Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A - Free Report) by 2.4% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 3,641,879 shares of the medical research company's stock after selling 89,581 shares during the period. Agilent Technologies comprises 3.4% of Cantillon Capital Management LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 8th biggest position. Cantillon Capital Management LLC owned 1.24% of Agilent Technologies worth $506,330,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Troy Asset Management Ltd grew its stake in Agilent Technologies by 1.5% during the 4th quarter. Troy Asset Management Ltd now owns 1,039,466 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $144,517,000 after buying an additional 15,414 shares during the last quarter. E Fund Management Co. Ltd. purchased a new position in shares of Agilent Technologies in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $213,000. National Pension Service boosted its stake in Agilent Technologies by 2.3% in the 4th quarter. National Pension Service now owns 614,742 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $85,468,000 after purchasing an additional 13,825 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its position in Agilent Technologies by 3.2% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,678,755 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $233,397,000 after purchasing an additional 51,490 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management increased its stake in Agilent Technologies by 3.2% during the 4th quarter. Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management now owns 2,421 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $337,000 after purchasing an additional 75 shares in the last quarter.

Agilent Technologies Stock Performance

Shares of Agilent Technologies stock traded up $4.62 on Friday, reaching $149.76. 2,246,401 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,533,636. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41, a quick ratio of 2.04 and a current ratio of 2.68. The firm has a market cap of $43.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.66, a P/E/G ratio of 4.22 and a beta of 1.13. Agilent Technologies, Inc. has a 1-year low of $96.80 and a 1-year high of $152.81. The company's 50-day moving average is $142.70 and its two-hundred day moving average is $132.40.

Agilent Technologies (NYSE:A - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 27th. The medical research company reported $1.29 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.22 by $0.07. Agilent Technologies had a net margin of 18.35% and a return on equity of 27.09%. The company had revenue of $1.66 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.59 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.37 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was down 5.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts expect that Agilent Technologies, Inc. will post 5.5 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Agilent Technologies Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 24th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, April 2nd were paid a $0.236 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, April 1st. This represents a $0.94 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.63%. Agilent Technologies's dividend payout ratio is currently 22.38%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on A. Citigroup increased their price objective on Agilent Technologies from $130.00 to $145.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 28th. Evercore ISI upped their price objective on Agilent Technologies from $132.00 to $145.00 and gave the company an "in-line" rating in a report on Thursday, April 4th. Stifel Nicolaus raised shares of Agilent Technologies from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and increased their target price for the stock from $145.00 to $163.00 in a research note on Friday, April 5th. Oppenheimer upped their price objective on shares of Agilent Technologies from $67.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, March 26th. Finally, Barclays boosted their price objective on Agilent Technologies from $125.00 to $135.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $141.29.

Insider Activity at Agilent Technologies

In related news, SVP Philip Binns sold 2,827 shares of Agilent Technologies stock in a transaction on Monday, March 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $147.54, for a total value of $417,095.58. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 9,997 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,474,957.38. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In related news, Director Heidi Fields sold 1,658 shares of Agilent Technologies stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $144.34, for a total transaction of $239,315.72. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 54,976 shares of the company's stock, valued at $7,935,235.84. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, SVP Philip Binns sold 2,827 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, March 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $147.54, for a total value of $417,095.58. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 9,997 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,474,957.38. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 61,610 shares of company stock valued at $9,220,333 over the last ninety days.

About Agilent Technologies

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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