Perbak Capital Partners LLP Takes Position in Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A)

Perbak Capital Partners LLP acquired a new position in Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm acquired 8,725 shares of the medical research company's stock, valued at approximately $1,172,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Agilent Technologies during the fourth quarter worth about $456,963,000. Madison Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Agilent Technologies during the 4th quarter valued at about $94,051,000. Marshall Wace LLP lifted its position in Agilent Technologies by 280.3% during the 4th quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 806,895 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $108,398,000 after acquiring an additional 594,744 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp lifted its position in Agilent Technologies by 12.3% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 4,192,790 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $563,259,000 after acquiring an additional 457,713 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in Agilent Technologies in the 4th quarter worth approximately $48,172,000. 87.42% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Robert W. Baird reduced their target price 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. TD Cowen boosted their price objective on shares of Agilent Technologies to $135.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report 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 research report on Thursday, April 10th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on Agilent Technologies from $155.00 to $135.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price target on Agilent Technologies from $135.00 to $116.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 21st. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Agilent Technologies has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $143.00.

Agilent Technologies Stock Performance

Agilent Technologies stock traded up $2.22 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $108.68. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,213,053 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,883,370. The company has a current ratio of 2.20, a quick ratio of 1.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56. Agilent Technologies, Inc. has a twelve month low of $96.43 and a twelve month high of $155.35. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $113.57 and a 200-day moving average price of $129.77. The firm has a market cap of $30.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.98, a PEG ratio of 3.06 and a beta of 1.27.

Agilent Technologies (NYSE:A - Get Free Report) last posted 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 net margin of 19.27% and a return on equity of 25.56%. The business had revenue of $1.68 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.67 billion. Sell-side analysts predict that Agilent Technologies, Inc. will post 5.54 EPS 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 dividend of $0.248 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, April 1st. This represents a $0.99 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.91%. Agilent Technologies's payout ratio is currently 22.76%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Agilent Technologies news, VP Rodney Gonsalves sold 1,908 shares of Agilent Technologies stock in a transaction on Monday, March 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $121.98, for a total transaction of $232,737.84. Following 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 sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Daniel K. Podolsky sold 1,819 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, March 31st. The stock was 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 position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.26% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.